Free online translator for converting English names to Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ)
Punjabi uses the Gurmukhi script, developed in the 16th century by Sikh Guru Angad Dev Ji. Gurmukhi means 'from the mouth of the Guru' and is used for the Punjabi language in India.
Punjabi is written in Gurmukhi, a script created in the sixteenth century by Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru, to record the Sikh scriptures in the everyday language of the people rather than in Sanskrit. The name means from the mouth of the Guru, and the script carries strong religious significance alongside its everyday use. This origin makes it one of the few major scripts with a known individual creator and a documented purpose.
Gurmukhi is a Brahmic abugida with the familiar inherent-vowel structure and a connecting headline along the top. It has thirty-five base letters arranged in a traditional order that begins with three vowel carriers rather than a consonant, reflecting its designed rather than evolved character.
Punjabi is unusual among Indian languages in being tonal, with three tones that arose historically when the voiced aspirated consonants lost their aspiration. The script does not mark tone directly; instead the historical letters ਘ, ਝ, ਢ, ਧ and ਭ now signal a tone on the surrounding vowel rather than the sound they originally represented. This is invisible to anyone transliterating a foreign name but explains why Gurmukhi spelling can look inconsistent with pronunciation.
Gurmukhi transliteration converts English names phonetically. The script is an abugida where consonants have an inherent vowel that can be modified or suppressed.
For foreign names, Gurmukhi behaves much like other Brahmic scripts. The full range of aspirated and retroflex consonants is available, so English t and d can be assigned to retroflex forms that sound closer, and k, g, p and b all have distinct letters.
Sounds Punjabi lacks are handled with the nukta, a dot placed beneath a letter to modify it: ਜ਼ for z, ਫ਼ for f, ਗ਼ for the Persian gh and ਖ਼ for kh. These were added for Persian and Arabic loanwords and serve equally well for English names. Note that Punjabi is also written in the Shahmukhi script, a Perso-Arabic system used in Pakistan, so the same name has two entirely different written forms depending on which side of the border it is written on.
Here are examples of common English names transliterated to Punjabi:
Explore your name in other writing systems:
Use our Gurmukhi translator above. Enter your English name and it will be converted to Punjabi Gurmukhi script using phonetic transliteration.
Gurmukhi is the Indic script used for Punjabi in India. Shahmukhi is an Arabic-based script used for Punjabi in Pakistan. Our tool uses Gurmukhi.
Yes! Gurmukhi was developed specifically for writing Sikh religious texts, including the Guru Granth Sahib.
Most English sounds have Gurmukhi equivalents. Some like 'f' and 'z' use nukta (dot) modifications of existing letters.
Over 125 million people speak Punjabi worldwide, making it one of the most spoken languages globally.
Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru, in the sixteenth century, to record Sikh scripture in everyday Punjabi rather than Sanskrit. The name means from the mouth of the Guru.
With the nukta, a dot beneath the letter: ਫ਼ for f and ਜ਼ for z. These were introduced for Persian and Arabic loanwords and work for English names too.
No. Punjabi in Pakistan is written in Shahmukhi, a Perso-Arabic script. The same name therefore has two completely different written forms depending on the region.