Ranganathan is a South Indian name. It is derived from the Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 name Ranganatha

Ranganatha

Ranganātha , also known as Sri Ranganatha, Ranganathar, or Ranga, is a Hindu deity, more well known in South India. The deity is a resting form of Lord Vishnu, one of the foremost of Hindu Gods. His consort is Goddess Lakshmi, also known as Ranganayaki, Thayar...

, which is the name of the Hindu

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 god Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

, as depicted resting on the nāga

Naga

Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...

Shesha

Shesha

In Hindu tradition, Shesha or Sheshanaag is the king of all nagas, one of the primal beings of creation, and according to the Bhagavata Purana, an Avatar of the Supreme God known as Sankarshan. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the Universe on his hoods and to constantly...

. The name derives from the Sanskrit words ranga, meaning "place of assembly," and nath, meaning "protector," and thus by extension the name literally means "protector of the place of assembly."

It may refer to:

• S. R. Ranganathan
  S. R. Ranganathan
  Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan was a mathematician and librarian from India. His most notable contributions to the field were his five laws of library science and the development of the first major analytico-synthetic classification system, the colon classification...
  
  , mathematician and librarian
• T. Ranganathan
  T. Ranganathan
  Tanjore Ranganathan was a Carnatic musician specializing in percussion instruments, particularly the mridangam....
  
  , musician
• R. Madhavan
  R. Madhavan
  R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
  
  , film actor
• B. Ranganathan
  B. Ranganathan
  B. Ranganathan is an Indian politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Purasawalkam constituency as an Indian National Congress candidate in 1991, and 1996 elections. He was elected as a Dravida Munnetra...
  
  , breast cancer technologist