Kannan ( ta, கண்ணன்) is a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

. Due to a Tamil tradition of using

patronymic surname A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father or a patrilineal ancestor. Different cultures have different ways of producing patronymic surnames. For example, early patronymic Welsh surnames were the result of th ...

s, it may also be a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

for males and females. The name is derived from the

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 ...

god

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, who is offered the epithet of Kannan in Tamil, meaning, "the one who is to be seen".

Etymology

The word ''Kannan'' might come from the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

into Tamil during the classical period. In Pali, Kanha means dark or black, and the

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 ...

equivalent will be Kṛṣṇa (

). In Tamil-speaking regions, Lord Krishna will be called Kanna(or with a masculine ending Kannan).The word might also have a ancient Tamil root ``Kanha``காண் + ணா = காணா, which means invisibe to physical eyes. The Paramatma is represented as dark to indicate his presence beyond things you see with your eyes (non-materialistic nature).

Notable people

Given name

* Michael Kannan Sundaresan, writer, guitarist, musician, American Eastern-Indian *

B. Kannan Bhimsingh Kannan (10 January 1951 – 13 June 2020) was an Indian cinematographer who worked in Tamil and Malayalam films. He was known for his association with Director Bharathiraja and was referred to as "Bharathirajavin Kangal" (Bharathiraja' ...

, Indian cinematographer * K. Kannan, Singaporean footballer *

Kannan (music director) Kannan is an Indian film music composer who worked in the Tamil film industry. He debuted in 2010 with ''Thamizh Padam''. Career Kannan studied at Music College before beginning his career as a guitarist in 1988. Over the course of a decade, h ...

, Indian film music composer * Kannan Balakrishnan (born 1964), Indian musician *

Kannan Iyer Kannan Iyer is an Indian filmmaker and actor. He has written films like '' Daud'' (1997) and ''Victory'' (2009); and has also directed a supernatural thriller, ''Ek Thi Daayan'', starring Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma and Huma Qureshi. ...

, Indian film writer and actor *

Kannan Soundararajan Kannan Soundararajan (born December 27, 1973) is an India-born American mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Before moving to Stanford in 2006, he was a faculty member at University of Michigan where he pursued hi ...

, Indian mathematician * M. Kannan, Indian politician *

P. Kannan P. Kannan ( – 16 September 2016) was an Indian politician and former Member of Parliament elected from Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Salem constituency in 1977 electio ...

, Indian politician from Tamil Nadu *

, Indian politician from Puducherry *

R. Kannan R. Kannan (born Rajmohan on 21 July 1971) is an Indian filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the successful Tamil film ''Jayamkondaan'' starring Vinay Rai and Bhavana in 2008. Career Kannan started his career assisting director Manobal ...

(born 1975), Indian film director * S. P. Kannan, Indian politician *

Srirangam Kannan Srirangam Kannan (born 5 May 1952) is an Indian musician and artist, known for playing the morsing. He has a degree in mathematics. Profile Vidwan Srirangam S. Kannan was born on 5 May 1952 in Srirangam to K Sathyamurthy and Kamalam. Growing up ...

(born 1952), Indian musician *

Vedham Puthithu Kannan K. Kannan popularly known as Vedham Pudhithu Kannan, is an Indian film/stage director, writer and producer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. At various stages of his career, Kannan had the privilege to be mentored by veteran directors Bharathi ...

, Indian filmmaker

Surname

* Biju C. Kannan, Indian film director *

Beena Kannan Beena Kannan is an Indian business woman, who is the CEO and lead designer of Seematti textiles. Career After university, she joined the family textile retailing business 'Seematti' in 1980, working with her father and husband. Seematti was st ...

(born 1960), Indian businesswoman *

Bharathi Kannan S.Bharathi Kannan is an Indian film director, who has directed Tamil films. He was primarily active in the 1990s and early 2000 and is most noted for his work on devotional films. Career He started his career in 1981, joining as an assistant d ...

(born 1962), Indian film director *

Embar Kannan Embar S. Kannan is a violinist in the fields of Carnatic Music and Tamil Film Music. Trained in Carnatic as well as Western Classical methods, he is a Grade 'A top' artist of the All India Radio and is universally acclaimed as a soloist and an ...

(born 1975), Indian musician *

Kanal Kannan Kanal Kannan (born as V. Kannan) is an Indian actor, action choreographer and screenwriter who works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. He has worked with actors Mammootty, Prithviraj , Unni Mukundan Unnikrishnan Mukund ...

, Indian film choreographer *

Ravi Kannan R Ravi Kannan R is an Indian surgical oncologist, based in Assam, India. He is the Director oCachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC), Silchar a nonprofit hospital, that provides free cancer treatment. He is the former Head of Departm ...

Indian oncologist and Padma Shri awardee *

Ravindran Kannan Ravindran Kannan ( ta, ரவீந்திரன் கண்ணன்; born 12 March 1953, Madras) is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research India, where he leads the algorithms research group. He is also the first adjunct faculty of C ...

(born 1953), Indian computer scientist *

Siddharth Kannan Siddharth Kannan is an Indian television and radio host, announcer, voice-over actor and a film critic. Early life and background He was born into a Tamil speaking family in New Delhi to parents V.Kannan and Radha Kannan, Sid K as he is pop ...

, Indian broadcaster *

Yaar Kannan Yaar Kannan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked on Tamil films. He made his debut with the 1985 with the horror film '' Yaar?'' and regularly collaborated with Ramarajan in the late 1980s. Career After assisting Mahendr ...

, Indian film director

Other uses

Films

* ''

Kannan En Kadhalan ''Kannan En Kadhalan'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by P. Neelakantan, produced and written by R. M. Veerappan, starring M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and Vanisri. It was released on 25 April 1968. Plot Kannan is the ...

'', 1968 Tamil film * ''

Kannan Varuvaan ''Kannan Varuvaan'' () is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Sundar C. The film stars Karthik, Manthra and Divya Unni, while Goundamani, Senthil, Manorama, Ranjith and Radha Ravi play supporting roles. The music was c ...

'', 2000 Tamil film

Places

Kannan Devan Hills Kannan Devan Hills is a large village located in Devikulam taluk of Idukki district in the Indian state of Kerala. The village of Kannan Devan Hills in Devikulam Taluk, was given on lease on 11 July 1877 by the Poonjar Thampuran to John Dani ...

, village in Kerala, India

References

{{Surname Tamil masculine given names