Prakash
Prakash is a common masculine given name and surname in South Asia, widely used in Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. The word prakash is derived from the Sanskrit word prakāśa, meaning "bright light" or "sun light" or "moon light" or "light", from a combination of pra meaning "forth" and kāśa meaning "shining." Hence the meaning "luminous; shining forth". Metaphorically, it designates the person as a source of enlightenment or wisdom.
Given name
Notable persons with this given name include:- Prakash (film director), Kannada film director
- Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar, Indian politician from Maharashtra
- Prakash Amritraj, Indian tennis player
- Prakash Amte, Indian medical doctor and social worker
- Prakash Bare, Indian Malayalam actor
- Prakash Bhandari, Indian cricketer
- Prakash Dahake, Indian politician from Maharashtra
- Prakash Javadekar, Indian politician from Madhya Pradesh
- Prakash Jha, Indian film producer-director-screenwriter
- Prakash John, Canadian rock bassist
- Prakash Karat, Indian communist politician
- Prakash Mehra, Indian Hindi film producer and director
- Prakash Munda, Indian cricketer
- Prakash Padukone, Indian badminton player
- Prakash Persad, Trinidad and Tobago politician
- Prakash Raj, Indian film actor, director, producer and television presenter
- Prakash Vir Shastri, Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh
- Prakash Kumar Singh chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited
Surname
- Aditya Prakash (architect), Indian architect, painter, and author
- Aditya Prakash (badminton), Indian badminton player
- Amrita Prakash, Indian actress in Hindi cinema
- Balaji Prakash, Indian structural biologist and biochemist
- Cedric Prakash, Indian Catholic priest and human rights activist
- Jose Prakash, Indian actor and singer in Malayalam cinema
- Khemchand Prakash, Indian musical composer for the Hindi film industry
- Madappa Prakash, Indian-American physicist
- Neil Prakash, also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, an Australian-born member of the Islamic State group
- Satya Prakash (physicist), Indian physicist
- Tejasswi Prakash, Indian actress in Hindi television
- Uday Prakash, Indian author, scholar, and journalist
- Varshini Prakash, American climate activist