Sarva is a Sanskrit name meaning all or whole and is also an epithet of Shiva.
Sarva derives from the Sanskrit word sarva (सर्व), meaning 'all,' 'whole,' or 'everything.' It is one of the most philosophically loaded words in the Sanskrit lexicon, appearing throughout the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita to describe totality, universality, and the all-pervading nature of the divine. In the Rigveda, Sarva also functions as an epithet of Rudra — the fierce, storm-wielding precursor to the god Shiva — lending the name an ancient numinous quality that predates classical Hinduism by millennia.
As a given name, Sarva has been used across South Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly in communities with strong ties to Sanskrit learning and Hindu devotional practice. Compound forms like Sarvajit ('conqueror of all'), Sarvananda ('bliss of all'), and Sarvamitra ('friend of all') appear throughout Sanskrit literature and epigraphy, demonstrating the name element's fertility in naming traditions. Sarva as a standalone name conveys a quiet but immense ambition: to embody completeness itself.
In the contemporary diaspora, Sarva is gaining quiet traction among parents who value Sanskrit roots and cross-cultural resonance. It is short, melodic, and gender-flexible — qualities that travel well beyond South Asian contexts. Its philosophical weight — a name that means everything — gives it an almost meditative quality, as though the bearer is being asked to hold the fullness of the world.