Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Sanskrit dictionary reading is negative (“poisonous”) while the Hindi reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
As a deity name
Name 28 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
Name 380 of the Shiva Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Sage Tandi to Sage Upamanyu
Name 527 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
Note: the Hindi and Sanskrit paths disagree here — the Sanskrit dictionary reading is negative (“poisonous”) while the Hindi reading is not. Both are shown below; read them together before choosing.
नन्दन · nandan · adj.
Making glad or happy, delighting, rejoicing, gladdening — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 1155
Cited formation "नन्दन" is नन्द + -न: नन्द means "Happiness, pleasure, joy, felicity, prosperity (i.q. ānand, the more com. form)", and the suffix -न forms abstract nouns (masc. or fem.). CHD Basic Grammar App. I §8(18) — cited from the extracted rule table — base gloss: Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago
Cited formation "नन्दन" is नन्दना + -न: नन्दना means "A daughter (lit. 'rejoicer of the mother')", and the suffix -न forms abstract nouns (masc. or fem.). CHD Basic Grammar App. I §8(18) — cited from the extracted rule table — base gloss: Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
a son, &c. (ifc. also ˚naka, )
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (5)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "nandana" is the vocative of "nandanā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Dictionary citations
nandana mf(ā)n. (the initial n is not changeable to ṇ, g. kṣubhnādi) rejoicing, gladdening (cf. ˚daka), MBh.; Var.; Pañc.
nandana m. a son, Yājñ.; MBh.; Kāv. &c. (ifc. also ˚naka, MBh.)
a frog (cf. ˚daka), L.
nandana m. a kind of poisonous plant, Śuśr. (also f. Sch.)
nandana m. a partic. form of temple, Var.
nandanā f. daughter (cf. kula-)
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