Bhishma
/B-IY-SH-M-AH/
The terrible one, the grandsire whose vow of celibacy earned him the most fearsome name in the Mahabharata — Bhishma took a vow of lifelong celibacy to secure his father's second marriage, and the gods renamed him from Devavrata to Bhishma for the terribleness of his sacrifice. He lay on a bed of arrows for fifty-eight days, choosing the moment of his own death
See Bhishma scored for your familyMeaning & origin
Bhishma is a boy's name of Sanskrit origin, traditionally used in Hindu families. The name means "The terrible one, the grandsire whose vow of celibacy earned him the most fearsome name in the Mahabharata — Bhishma took a vow of lifelong celibacy to secure his father's second marriage, and the gods renamed him from Devavrata to Bhishma for the terribleness of his sacrifice. He lay on a bed of arrows for fifty-eight days, choosing the moment of his own death" and belongs to the Courage cluster — names for children who will grow into bold, fearless hearts.
Common among Indian, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayali families, Bhishma carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.
Numerology of Bhishma
Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Bhishma resonates in either tradition.
How Bhishma sounds
NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of Bhishma breaks down into 5 phonemes: /B-IY-SH-M-AH/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.
Nicknames
Common affectionate forms of Bhishma — useful for everyday family conversation, early childhood, or as standalone given names themselves.
The six signals, applied to Bhishma
NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how Bhishma maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.
Names similar to Bhishma
If Bhishma resonates with you, these names live in the same world — drawn from the same tradition, sharing the same meaning, or echoing a similar sound.
From the same tradition
Other Hindu boy names, common in Indian families
Sharing the same meaning
Other Hindu boy names from the Courage cluster
Names that sound similar
Hindu boy names that open with the same syllables as Bhishma
Common questions about Bhishma
What does the name Bhishma mean?
Bhishma means "The terrible one, the grandsire whose vow of celibacy earned him the most fearsome name in the Mahabharata — Bhishma took a vow of lifelong celibacy to secure his father's second marriage, and the gods renamed him from Devavrata to Bhishma for the terribleness of his sacrifice. He lay on a bed of arrows for fifty-eight days, choosing the moment of his own death." It is a boy name of Sanskrit origin, traditionally used in Hindu families.
Is Bhishma a boy or girl name?
Bhishma is most commonly used as a boy name.
What is the origin of the name Bhishma?
Bhishma is of Sanskrit origin, used in Hindu tradition, commonly among Indian, Marathi, Bengali families.
What are common nicknames for Bhishma?
Common short forms of Bhishma include Bhisi, Bhis.
What is the numerology of Bhishma?
Bhishma has a Pythagorean destiny number of 33 — the master teacher — unconditional love in action.
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