What was Mahatma Gandhi's actual first name?

What was Mahatma Gandhi's actual first name? His first name was Mohandas.

Gandhi's full birth name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, in present-day Gujarat, India. “Mahatma” was not his given name; it is an honorific derived from Sanskrit words meaning “great soul” or “venerable person.”

The middle name Karamchand came from his father, Karamchand Gandhi, who served as a diwan, or chief minister, in several princely states. Gandhi later became internationally known as Mahatma Gandhi because of his leadership in India's independence movement and his advocacy of nonviolent resistance.

Another common form of his name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, often abbreviated as M. K. Gandhi. He also used the title “Mahatma” reluctantly in some contexts, while “Bapu,” meaning “father,” became a widely used affectionate name in India. His legal and biographical identity therefore begins with Mohandas, while Mahatma describes the revered public figure he became.