Biju (Malayalam: ബിജു) is a popular male name in India, especially in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. ''Biju'' is derived from the similar rhyming name ''Viju''. It is highly likely that ''Viju'' is an affectionate version of the name ''

Vijaya Vijaya may refer to: Places * Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam * Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India People * Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...

'', which means ''Victory'' in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and several Indian languages. It has a similar meaning in Chinese as well. Biju is associated with

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

, the great warrior hero of the

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruks ...

. In Kerala, the name Biju is used by all communities:

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s, and thus is a secular name, although many have added suffixes which indicate their

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

or community. For example, Biju Cheriya Othayoth Eramala (ബിജു ചെറിയ ഒതയോത് ബാലകൃഷ്ണൻ ഏറാമല ), in which ബിജു is the first name, ബാലകൃഷ്ണൻ is the first letter of father's name and ചെറിയ ഒതയോത് is the house name. This name also may have derived from the French word "

bijou Bijou is a French word meaning ''jewel'', often loosely applied to buildings to mean small and elegant. It may also refer to: Buildings * Bijou Palace, also known as the Al-Gawhara Palace, a palace in Cairo, Egypt * Bijou Theatre (Manhattan), two ...

" (pronounced "bizhu"), meaning "jewel."

People with the given name

Biju Mathew Biju Mathew is a New York-based Marxist activist-intellectual. An immigrant from India, he teaches Information Systems and American studies at Rider University (New Jersey). A veteran labor organizer, he co-founded the New York Taxi Workers Allia ...

(fl. 1998–present), American Marxist intellectual *

Biju Menon Biju Menon (born 9 September 1970) is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films, and also has a few Tamil cinema, Tamil and Telugu cinema, Telugu film credits. He made his debut in the 1994 Malayalam film ''Puthran''. In a car ...

(b. 1970), Indian film actor *

Biju Narayanan Biju Narayanan () is an Indian playback singer active mainly in Malayalam films. Career Biju Narayanan trained in Carnatic music under Aryanad Sadasivan for eight years. He began his music career singing tracks for P. Jayachandran, Unni M ...

(fl. 1992–present), Indian playback singer *

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha. Early life His parents lived in Bellaguntha, Ganjam distri ...

(1916-1997), Indian politician, founder of

Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the party i ...

party * Biju Phukan (fl. 1970–present), Indian Assamese actor *

Biju Toppo Biju Toppo is an anthropological and national award-winning tribal documentary filmmaker from Ranchi, Jharkhand. He uses film as a medium for social activism on behalf of marginalized indigenous communities, and teaches video production at St. ...

(fl. 1995–present), Indian documentary filmmaker *

Biju Viswanath Biju Viswanath is an Indian film director, director of photography, film editor and screenwriter. Across various genres, he has made numerous films in different languages, notably, English, Tamil, Malayalam, Irish, Swahili & Urdu. He has also ...

(fl. 1998–present), Indian film director *

Bijukumar Damodaran Bijukumar Damodaran, known mononymously as Dr. Biju, is an Indian homoeopathic doctor turned film director and screenwriter. He is best known for films such as '' Saira'' (2005), '' Veettilekkulla Vazhi'' (2010), '' Akasathinte Niram'' (2012), ...

, known as Dr. Biju (born 1971), Indian film director

People with the surname

Sathyabhama Das Biju Sathyabhama Das Biju (born May, 1963) is an Indian amphibian biologist, wildlife conservationist and heads the Systematics Lab at the University of Delhi, Department of Environmental Studies. He is dubbed as the "Frogman of India" by media for ...

(b. 1963), Indian biologist {{given name, type=both Indian masculine given names