Basab as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Basab

What is the meaning of the name Basab ?

The baby name Basab is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈbɑːsəb/ — BAH-səb (stress on first syllable).

Basab is Bengali in Origin.

Basab is a Bengali/Assamese masculine name derived from Sanskrit Vāsava, an epithet of Indra. In Eastern Indo‑Aryan phonology, Sanskrit v commonly shifts to b and the final vowel is dropped, yielding Basab from Vāsava. Etymologically, Vāsava means “of the Vasus” or “lord of the Vasus,” referencing the eight Vedic deities called the Vasus and by extension Indra, chief of the gods. Through the root vasu (“wealth, excellence”), the name also carries connotations of prosperity and eminence.

Attested as a title for Indra in Vedic and epic literature, Vāsava became a personal name in Bengal and Assam and remains in use among Hindu families and the diaspora. Variants and related forms include Vasava, Vasav, and Basav; the literary feminine Vāsavadattā (“given by Indra”) is well known from classical Sanskrit drama. Note: Basab/Basav should not be confused with Kannada Basava (linked to the word for “bull” and to the reformer Basavanna), which is a separate etymology.

⚙ Basab is seldom given. In all, it turns up just 24 times, across 6 countries.