As a deity name
Name 198 of the Gayatri Sahasranāma — Devi Bhagavata Purana, as taught by Sages
Name 105 of the Saraswati Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
As a Hindi name
No reading on this path — this spelling has no entry in our Hindi sources, and no near neighbour is attested there either. We say so rather than invent one.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
‘swift-goer’, the river Ganges (personified and considered as the eldest daughter of Himavat and Menā, as the wife of Śāntanu and mother of Bhīṣma, or as one of the wives of Dharma…
Scripturally attestedWhy this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "gaṅgāyai" is the dative of "gaṅgā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
M1 · same meaning "gaṅgāyai" is the dative of "gaṅga" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Related forms
Dictionary citations
gaṅgā f. (√ gam, Uṇ.) ‘swift-goer’, the river Ganges (personified and considered as the eldest daughter of Himavat and Menā, R. i, 36, 15; as the wife of Śāntanu and mother of Bhīṣma, MBh. i, 3800; Hariv. 2967 ff.; or as one of the wives of Dharma, PadmaP. ; there is also a Gaṅgā in the sky [ākāśa- or vyoma-g˚, qq.vv.; cf. khāpagā, gaganāpagā &c.] and one below the earth, Hariv. 12782; Bhagī-ratha is said to have conducted the heavenly Gaṅgā down to the earth, 810 ff.; R. i, ch. 44), RV. x, 75, 5; ŚBr. xiii; TĀr. &c.
N. of the wife of Nīla-kaṇṭha and mother of Śaṃkara
gaṅga (in comp. for ˚ṅgā, Pāṇ. vi, 3, 63).
gaṅga m. a kind of deer, L.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources