Ketaki

Ketaki (केतकी, IAST: ketakī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “The pandanus flower; the screwpine blossom”. The fragrant white flower of the pandanus tree; sacred in many South Indian temple traditions.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Ketaki (केतकी) is the Sanskrit name of the pandanus or screwpine flower (Pandanus odorifer) — a fragrant white flower native to South and Southeast Asia, with a striking, almost intoxicating scent. The ketaki flower is a recurring image in Sanskrit poetry, often paired with the kadamba and mallika as the great fragrant flowers of the monsoon season.

In the Shiva Purana the ketaki flower has a particular and somewhat bittersweet role: when Brahma and Vishnu argued over who was supreme, Shiva manifested as an infinite jyotirlinga. Brahma tried to find its top, and (unable to) brought back the ketaki flower as false witness to his success. For this lie Brahma was cursed never to be worshipped in temples, and the ketaki was cursed never to be offered to Shiva. The flower's very fragrance is therefore tinged with this Puranic memory.

To name a daughter Ketaki is to invoke this rich poetic and Puranic background. The name pairs especially well with classical surnames in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bengal where the flower is most beloved.

Pronunciation: KE-ta-kee. The variant Ketki is the modern short form.

Astrology — nakshatra & rashi

By the standard Vedic correspondence between the first syllable of a name and the lunar mansion (nakshatra), Ketaki aligns with the Punarvasu nakshatra, under the Mithuna rashi (Moon sign).

Similar names

Hindu names with a similar feel or meaning include: Ketki, Champa, Mallika. Each is a distinct choice with its own etymology — explore them on their own pages for fuller context.