Lanka

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Lanke in IN India, US United States, GB United Kingdom.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Lanka is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English name5.0K records spelled Lanka6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: English, Dutch, German

  Also written Lànka, Laṅkā

• a separate name3.0K records spelled Lanka4 spellings in the group

  Also written Laṅkā, Laṅka, Laňka

• Sinhala surname3.0K records spelled Lanka4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sri Lanka, India

  Also written Lamka, ලංකා, 'Lanka

• Bangla surname504 records spelled Lanka8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Bangladesh

  Also written Lonka, Langka, লঙ্কা, Langkaa, Laṅkā

• Spanish name425 records spelled Lanka3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Panama

  Also written Laňka

49 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Lanka is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Hindu name of unknown meaning.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In Finnish, thread (twisted strand of fiber used in sewing, weaving or in the construction of string)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, The island city of Ravana in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In dsb, genitive singular of lank

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Slovak, diminutive of laň

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 83 years between 1921–2016. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Jānis Lankab. 1940LVSoviet Latvian athletics competitor
• Zigurds Lankab. 1960LVLatvian chess player (born 1960)
• Stefan Lankab. 1963DEGerman author, HIV/AIDS denialism, promoting conspiracy theories
• K. Nilmini Lanka Geeganageb. 1970LKbadminton player
• Lakini Lanka Geeganageb. 1996LKbadminton player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 176 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Lanka?

We estimate roughly 10 thousand people bear Lanka (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Lanka have the most bearers?

We estimate about 8.2 thousand people bear Lanka in India, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled lanke.

Where is Lanka most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Lanka is densest in Finland — about 1 in 4.3 thousand people — even though India holds more of our records for it.

What does the name Lanka mean?

Recorded meaning: probably a shortened form of Lithuanian Lankauskas.