As a deity name
Name 189 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
As a Hindi name
प्रथम · adj
गणना में जिसका स्थान सबसे पहले हो । जो गिनती में सबसे पहले आवे । पहला । आदि का । अव्वल · सर्व- श्रेष्ठ । सबसे अच्छा · प्रधान । मुख्य — Śabdasāgara
प्रथम · adv
पहले । पेश्तर । आगे । आदि में — Śabdasāgara
प्रथम · pratham · adj.
(f. -ā), Foremost, first, initial, the first in a series; earliest, most ancient, primary, original; preceding, previous, prior, earlier, former; chief, principal, most excellent, incomparable — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 243
प्रथम · masculine
a male given name, Pratham, from Sanskrit
प्रथम
first, foremost; preeminent
Cited formation "प्रथम" is प्र- + थम: थम means "= thambh, q.v", and the prefix प्र- forms excess, very, forward. CHD Basic Grammar App. I §3(14) — cited from the extracted rule table — base gloss: Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi प्रथम — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Borrowed from Sanskrit प्रथम (prathamá). Doublet of पहला (pahlā) and फ़र्दुम (fardum)” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
prathama mf(ā)n. (for pra-tama, superl. of 1. pra; rarely declined as a pron., e.g. ˚masyāḥ, AV. vi, 18, 1; ˚me, PañcavBr. xxv, 18, 5; R. iv, 37, 11; Kir. ii, 44; cf. Pāṇ. i, 1, 33) foremost, first (in time or in a series or in rank)
earliest, primary, original, prior, former
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
(for pra-tama, superl. of 1. pra; rarely declined as a pron., e.g. ˚masyāḥ, ˚me, cf. ) foremost, first (in time or in a series or in rank)
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (2)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "prathama" is the vocative of "prathamā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Gender counterpart
The kosha attests this stem in the feminine, the masculine, and the neuter — the same name serves without alteration.
Dictionary citations
prathama mf(ā)n. (for pra-tama, superl. of 1. pra; rarely declined as a pron., e.g. ˚masyāḥ, AV. vi, 18, 1; ˚me, PañcavBr. xxv, 18, 5; R. iv, 37, 11; Kir. ii, 44; cf. Pāṇ. i, 1, 33) foremost, first (in time or in a series or in rank)
earliest, primary, original, prior, former
preceding, initial, chief, principal, most excellent, RV. &c. &c.
often translatable adverbially = ibc. (cf. below) and (am ind.) firstly, at first, for the first time
just, newly, at once, forthwith (also āt, Hariv.)
prathamā (ā), f. (in gram.) the first or nominative case and its terminations
du. the first two cases and their terminations.
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