Jiva as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Jiva

What is the meaning of the name Jiva ?

The baby name Jiva is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced JEE-vah (/ˈdʒiːvə/).

Jiva is Indian, Sanskrit in Origin.

Rooted in Sanskrit jīva, “living, alive,” from the verbal root jīv- “to live,” Jiva names the principle of life itself. In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist thought, jīva denotes the individual, embodied soul or sentient being (contrasted with ajīva in Jainism), so the name carries meanings such as “life,” “alive,” “vital,” and “animate.” It appeals to parents seeking a succinct, spiritually inflected choice with pan-Indic resonance.

Documented bearers include the 16th‑century Vaishnava theologian Jiva Goswami, and the name has modern use across South Asia and the diaspora, often as a unisex but more commonly masculine name, especially in southern India. Variants and related forms include Jīva (with macron), Jeeva and Jiiva (modern transliterations), as well as Jivan/Jeevan (“life”), Jivana, and the feminine Jivika. A semantic counterpart exists in the Slavic name Živa/Ziva (“alive”), similar in sound yet unrelated in origin.