Sankar is a

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 ...

word meaning "beneficent" or "giver of bliss". Shankar is also the name of Hindu god,

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

(Shiva shankara). The south Indian version of Shankara is sometimes written as "Sankara". Notable people with this name include:

Given name

Sankar (writer) Mani Shankar Mukherjee (commonly known as ''Sankar'' in both Bengali and English-language literature) is an Indian writer in the Bengali language, who also served as the Sheriff of Kolkata. He grew up in Howrah district of West Bengal. Personal ...

(Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer *

Shankar Balasubramanian Sir Shankar Balasubramanian (born 30 September 1966) is an Indian-born British chemist and Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, ccessed 4 April 2013 Senior Group Leader ...

, UK Chemical Biologist * Shankar Bhattacharyya (born 1946), American engineer *

Shankar Lamichhane Shankar Lamichhane ( ne, शङ्कर लामिछाने; 1928 – 1976) was a Nepalese essayist and short–story writer. He is best known for his Madan Puraskar–winning essay collection '' Abstract Chintan Pyaj''. Early life He wa ...

, Nepalese Essayist *

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tami ...

, singer and part of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy music-director trio * Shankar Nagar, Nepalese town * Shankar Painter (1946–2020), Indian poet *

Shankar (actor) Shankar is an Indian actor who has worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. He acted in nearly 200 films.In the 80s and early 90s he was the most prominent romantc lead actor of Malayalam cinema. Shankar's debut Tamil film '' Oru Thalai Ragam,'' a ...

(Shankar Panikkar, born 1960), Indian film actor and director popularly known as Shankar *

K. Shankar Pillai Kesava Shankar Pillai (31 July 1902 – 26 December 1989), better known as Shankar, was an Indian cartoonist. He is considered the father of political cartooning in India. He founded ''Shankar's Weekly'', India's ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' in ...

(1902–1989), Indian cartoonist * Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi, half of the Shankar Jaiksan music-director duo *

Shankar Dayal Sharma Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh who served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997. Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahaba ...

(1918–1999), ninth President of India serving from 1992 to 1997 *

Shankar Tucker Shankar Tucker is an American clarinetist and music composer. He rose to fame with the popularity of his YouTube music channel "The ShrutiBox". He will be debuting as the music composer for the upcoming bilingual Indian feature film, 'Orey Nyabagam ...

, American clarinetist and music composer *

Shankar Vedantam Shankar Vedantam is an American journalist, writer, and science correspondent. His reporting focuses on human behavior and the social sciences. He is best known for his ''Hidden Brain'' family of products: book, podcast, and radio program. Educat ...

, reporter with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and host of 'Hidden Brain' podcast

Surname

* Adrian Shankar, English cricketer *

Amala Shankar Amala Shankar (''née'' Nandy, 27 June 1919 – 24 July 2020) was an Indian danseuse. She was the wife of dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar and mother of musician Ananda Shankar and dancer Mamata Shankar (later she became an actress) and ...

(1919–2020), Indian danseuse *

Anand Shankar Anand Shankar is an Indian film director and screenwriter, primarily working in Tamil cinema. Shankar started his career as an assistant director to Siddharth Anand in '' Anjaana Anjaani'' (2010). He also assisted producer-director AR Murug ...

, Tamil film director and writer * Ananda Shankar (1942–1999), Bengali musician best known for fusing Western and Eastern musical styles. He was married to Tanusree Shankar *

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player, producer, film composer and activist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had 7 Grammy Awards nominations and was the ...

(born 1981), Indian sitar player and composer in the United States, daughter of Ravi Shankar * Shankar (Tamil militant) (Colonel Shankar, ''nom de guerre''), Vaithilingam Sornalingam of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam *

K. Shankar Kannan Shankar (17 March 1926 - 5 March 2006) was an Indian film editor, screenwriter and director. He directed more than 80 films in South Indian languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada as well as in Hindi. Film career Shanka ...

, Tamil film director *

L. Shankar Lakshminarayana Shankar (born 26 April 1950), better known as L. Shankar, Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian violinist, singer and composer. Early life, family and education Shankar was born in Madras, India, and raised in Ceylon (current- ...

(born 1950), Indian violinist *

Mamata Shankar Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. I ...

(born 1955), actress in the Bengali language film industry of India *

Mani Shankar Mani Shankar is a Bollywood film director, holographic technology expert, writer and speaker. He is best known for introducing computer-generated imagery to India, and for designing the world's first holographic political campaign, which he ...

, Indian film-maker *

Melinda Shankar Melinda Leanna Shankar (born February 18, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring as Alli Bhandari in the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2008-2015) and as Indira "Indie" Mehta in the YTV series ''How T ...

(born 1992), Canadian actress * N. Shankar, Telugu film director *

Naren Shankar Narendra "Naren" Kanakaiah Shankar (born April 1, 1964) is an Indian American writer, producer and director of several television series. He is co-showrunner of the Amazon Prime series ''The Expanse''. He was also co-showrunner on the long-runni ...

, writer, producer and director of several television series * Geethali Norah Jones Shankar (

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

, born 1979), American singer-songwriter, daughter of Ravi Shankar *

Ramamurti Shankar Ramamurti Shankar (born April 28, 1947) is the Josiah Willard Gibbs professor of Physics at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. Education He received his B. Tech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, I ...

, physicist *

Ramsewak Shankar Ramsewak Shankar (born 6 November 1937) is a Surinamese politician who was the 4th President of Suriname, serving from 1988 to 1990. His government was overthrown by Dési Bouterse leading a bloodless military coup. Shankar had previously served ...

(1937), President of Suriname *

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

(1920–2012), famous sitar player *

Ravi Shankar (poet) Dr. Ravi Shankar (born 1975) is an American poet, editor, and former literature professor at Central Connecticut State University and City University of Hong Kong and Chairman of the Asia Pacific Writers & Translators (APWT). He is the founding ...

, poet and faculty member of Central Connecticut State University *

S. Shankar Shankar Shanmugam (born 17 August 1963), credited as S. Shankar or his mononym Shankar, is an Indian filmmaker who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is one of the most prolific and highest paid film directors in India. His films typicall ...

, Tamil film director *

Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader) Ravi Shankar (born 13 May 1956) is an Indian yoga guru, a spiritual leader. He is frequently referred to as Sri Sri (honorific), Guru ji, or Gurudev. From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Tr ...

, guru and founder of the Art of Living movement *

Uday Shankar Uday Shankar (8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian cl ...

(1900–1977), classical dancer *

Sankar (writer & director) Vijayamma Rajappan Sankar, commonly known as Sankar (Malayalam – ശങ്കർ), is an Indian film director, screenwriter, short story writer and novelist who works in Malayalam cinema and literature. Early and personal life Sankar was bo ...

(V. R. Shankar), Malayalam film director and writer {{Given name, type=both