As a deity name
Name 318 of the Narasimha Sahasranāma — Brahmanda Purana / Narasimha Purana, as taught by Sages to Assembly of Devotees
Name 603 of the Shiva Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Sage Tandi to Sage Upamanyu
Name 491 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
महादेव · noun · masculine
शंकर । शिव — Śabdasāgara
महादेव · mahā-deva · s.m.
See s.v. mahā — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 1098
महादेव · masculine
an epithet of Lord Shiva; a male given name, Mahadev or Mahadeva, from Sanskrit
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi महादेव — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Borrowed from Sanskrit महादेव (mahādeva).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
mahā—deva m. ‘the gr˚ deity’, N. of Rudra or Śiva or one of his attendant deities, AV. &c. &c.
of one of the 8 forms of R˚ or Ś˚, Pur.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
‘the gr˚ deity’, N. of Rudra or Śiva or one of his attendant deities, &c. &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (6)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "mahādeva" is the vocative of "mahādevā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Dictionary citations
mahā—deva m. ‘the gr˚ deity’, N. of Rudra or Śiva or one of his attendant deities, AV. &c. &c.
of one of the 8 forms of R˚ or Ś˚, Pur.
of Viṣṇu, MBh.; Hariv.; RāmatUp.
of various authors &c., Cat. (also dīkṣita-m˚, dvi-vedi-m˚; cf. below)
of a mountain, Vās., Introd.
mahā—devā f. N. of a daughter of Devaka, VP. (w.r. for saha-devā)
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
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