Karthikeya
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- kar-tih-KAY-yuh
- Origin
- Sanskrit
- US rank, 2025
- #3,449 for boys
Karthikeya is a boys' name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “son of the Krittikas, the Pleiades”. In 2025 it ranked 3,449th for boys in the US (33 babies).
What does Karthikeya mean?
Sanskrit: Sanskrit name of a Hindu god
“son of the Krittikas, the Pleiades”
A name of the Hindu war god also called Murugan and Skanda, who was raised by the six Krittikas.
Is Karthikeya a girl's or a boy's name?
Karthikeya is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 33 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Karthikeya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,449th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 33 about 1 in 52,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 40% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 33 boys in the US were named Karthikeya, making it the 3,449th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,037th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 39 boys. It first appears in the records in 2004.
2025 had more boys named Karthikeya than any year since 2016.
Half of all the boys named Karthikeya in the US since 1880 were born between 2014 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Karthikeya in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 33 | #3,449 |
| 2024 | 19 | #5,063 |
| 2023 | 25 | #4,216 |
| 2022 | 14 | #6,141 |
| 2021 | 19 | #4,932 |
| 2020 | 18 | #5,037 |
| 2019 | 16 | #5,551 |
| 2018 | 21 | #4,606 |
| 2017 | 27 | #3,885 |
| 2016 | 39 | #2,992 |
| 2015 | 24 | #4,177 |
| 2014 | 32 | #3,369 |
| 2013 | 14 | #5,919 |
| 2012 | 13 | #6,300 |
| 2011 | 11 | #7,002 |
| 2010 | 11 | #7,081 |
| 2009 | 8 | #8,980 |
| 2008 | 5 | #12,546 |
| 2007 | 8 | #8,909 |
| 2006 | 7 | #9,579 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 6 | #9,941 |
Nicknames for Karthikeya
- Karthik 8 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Karthikeya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aarav, Avyaan, Veer, Vihaan, Krishiv, Shivansh, Atharv, Aviraj, Krish, Viraj, Dhruv, Dhruva
Names related to Karthikeya
More Sanskrit names
Maya, Bodhi, Arya, Lila, Arjun, Rohan, Kali, Aryan, Opal, Arjan, Aadhya, Ishaan, Siya, Leena, Veda, India
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Karthikeya: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/karthikeya, updated 20 October 2026.