Sonal is from the Sanskrit sonal (सोनल — golden, made of gold). A modern American baby name in the broader Sanskrit-Odissi classical heritage aesthetic. Sonal in Sanskrit tradition — central to classical Indian aesthetic philosophy. Sonal Mansingh (born 1944) — iconic Indian classical Odissi + Bharatanatyam dancer + scholar + Rajya Sabha MP; widely considered one of the foundational greatest classical Indian dancers of the late 20th + early 21st centuries + one of the foundational figures of modern Indian classical dance; foundational disciple of iconic foundational gurus including Mayadhar Raut (Odissi) + U. S. Krishna Rao (Bharatanatyam) + Pandit Birju Maharaj (Kathak); her foundational repertoire spans across the iconic foundational Odissi + Bharatanatyam + Chhau + Kuchipudi — making her the foundational greatest multi-style classical Indian dancer in modern history; founder + Director of the iconic foundational Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) in Delhi (1977-present) + the iconic foundational Sonal Mansingh Foundation; Padma Bhushan (1992) + Padma Vibhushan (2003) — India's 2nd-highest civilian honor — making her one of the foundational Padma Vibhushan recipients in Indian classical dance; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987) + Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2003); Member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament, 2018-2024) — nominated by the iconic foundational President of India for her foundational contribution to classical dance + culture; foundational author of multiple books on Indian classical dance + the iconic foundational documentary **Sonal: Voyage in a Paradigm Shift (2002) by Prakash Jha; her foundational role in popularizing the iconic foundational Indian classical dance traditions worldwide is widely studied. Princess Sonal** — Hindu heritage naming.
Featured throughout Sanskrit heritage and Indian classical dance.
Sonal reduces to six.