Damodhara as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Damodhara

What is the meaning of the name Damodhara ?

The baby name Damodhara is a Male name , 4 syllables long and is pronounced DAH-moh-DAH-rah (approx.).

Damodhara is Indian, Sanskrit in Origin.

Damodhara is a Sanskrit theonym best known as an epithet of Krishna/Vishnu: Dāmodara (dāma “rope” + udara “belly”), a bahuvrīhi compound glossed “one whose belly is bound by a rope.” It recalls the Bhagavata Purāṇa episode where mother Yaśodā ties the mischievous child Krishna to a mortar, and in devotional exegesis it conveys loving discipline, humility, and the binding power of bhakti.

The name is prominent in Vaiṣṇava tradition and liturgy - most famously the Damodarāṣṭakam sung during the Kārtika month - and also appears among the names of Viṣṇu. Usage spans India and Nepal, especially among Hindu families. Principal variants include Damodara (classical), Damodar (North Indian/Nepali/Marathi/Bengali), Damodhar/Damodhara (modern spellings), and South Indian forms Damodaran or Damodharan; scholarly transliteration Dāmodara. Feminine adaptations like Damodarī/Damodari are rare. The name has long-service attestation in poetry, temple culture, and given-name records, yet remains distinctive outside South Asia.

⚙ Damodhara is vanishingly rare. We hold just 7 recorded uses of it, from 4 countries.