Punjabi Sikh name meaning 'praise of God' or 'singing the glory of the Divine,' rooted in devotional tradition.
Keerat is a traditional and spiritually resonant name rooted in Punjabi and broader Sanskrit traditions. It derives from "kīrat" (ਕੀਰਤ / कीर्त), a word meaning praise, glory, or the singing of devotional hymns — closely related to "kirtan," the communal practice of devotional singing central to Sikh worship. In the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of Sikhism, "kīrat karnī" — honest work and the praise of the divine — is one of the three pillars of righteous Sikh living, making Keerat a name that carries profound theological weight for families of that tradition.
The name has roots that extend further back through Sanskrit into the concept of "kīrti" (fame, glory, renown), which appears throughout the Hindu epics and classical literature as a quality worthy of a noble life. In the Mahabharata and the Puranas, to earn kīrti through righteous action was considered among the highest human achievements. The name thus positions its bearer within a long arc of South Asian thought about what makes a life meaningful.
In the Punjabi diaspora across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, Keerat has maintained steady usage as a unisex name — given to both boys and girls — though it leans feminine in contemporary practice. Its sound is gentle but distinctive to Western ears, and its meaning — one who sings praises, one who lives in gratitude — makes it a name that parents choose not just for its beauty but for the value system it encodes from a child's very first day.