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Namakarana

Baby names by nakshatra

560 traditional names with meanings — 272 for boys, 288 for girls — across all 27 nakshatras and their 98 pada syllables.

The 108-Syllable Grid

A child’s ritual name, given at the namakarana on the eleventh or twelfth day, begins with a syllable fixed by where the Moon stood at birth. The Moon’s path divides into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′, and each nakshatra into four padas of 3°20′ — 108 padas, 108 syllables, one per pada. It is the same grid printed in every panchang.

The syllable belongs to the pada rather than to the nakshatra, and the Moon crosses a pada in a little under six hours. Two children born in the same nakshatra on the same day can therefore carry different syllables, which is why the birth time and place are needed. Pick a nakshatra below for its four syllables and the names under each.

The name counts in the table are uneven on purpose. 15 of the 98 syllables begin no established name — several are sounds that cannot begin a Sanskrit word at all — and where that happens the page says so and gives the three traditional substitutes instead of inventing a name to fill the row.

All 27 Nakshatras and Their Naming Syllables

NakshatraPada syllablesRashiNames
Ashwiniअश्विनीChu, Che, Cho, LaAries17(1 pada empty)
BharaniभरणीLi, Lu, Le, LoAries16
Krittikaकृत्तिकाA, I, U, EAries, Taurus40
RohiniरोहिणीO, Va, Vi, VuTaurus28(1 pada empty)
MrigashiraमृगशिराVe, Vo, Ka, KiTaurus, Gemini25(1 pada empty)
Ardraआर्द्राKu, Gha, Ing, ChhaGemini13(1 pada empty)
Punarvasuपुनर्वसुKe, Ko, Ha, HiGemini, Cancer27
Pushyaपुष्यHu, He, Ho, DaCancer18(1 pada empty)
Ashleshaआश्लेषाDi, Du, De, DoCancer23
MaghaमघाMa, Mi, Mu, MeLeo28
Purva Phalguniपूर्व फाल्गुनीMo, Ta, Ti, TuLeo23
Uttara Phalguniउत्तर फाल्गुनीTe, To, Pa, PiLeo, Virgo17
Hastaहस्तPu, Sha, Na, ThaVirgo25(1 pada empty)
Chitraचित्राPe, Po, Ra, RiVirgo, Libra14(2 padas empty)
Swatiस्वातीRu, Re, Ro, TaLibra25
VishakhaविशाखाTi, Tu, Te, ToLibra, Scorpio15
AnuradhaअनुराधाNa, Ni, Nu, NeScorpio23
Jyeshthaज्येष्ठाNo, Ya, Yi, YuScorpio11(2 padas empty)
MulaमूलYe, Yo, Bha, BhiSagittarius15(1 pada empty)
Purva Ashadhaपूर्वाषाढ़ाBhu, Dha, Pha, DhaSagittarius26
Uttara Ashadhaउत्तराषाढ़ाBhe, Bho, Ja, JiSagittarius, Capricorn16(1 pada empty)
Shravanaश्रवणJu, Je, Jo, GhaCapricorn4(2 padas empty)
Dhanishtaधनिष्ठाGa, Gi, Gu, GeCapricorn, Aquarius18(1 pada empty)
ShatabhishaशतभिषाGo, Sa, Si, SuAquarius30
Purva Bhadrapadaपूर्व भाद्रपदSe, So, Da, DiAquarius, Pisces26
Uttara Bhadrapadaउत्तर भाद्रपदDu, Tha, Jha, TraPisces12(1 pada empty)
RevatiरेवतीDe, Do, Cha, ChiPisces25

If the Syllable Yields Nothing

Three substitutions are traditional, and none of them is treated as a compromise:

  1. Another pada of the same nakshatra. The pada fixes the syllable, but the nakshatra as a whole is what the naming rite is built on, and using a sibling pada's syllable is the commonest accommodation.
  2. Any syllable of the same Moon sign. Each rashi covers either two and a quarter nakshatras or nine padas, so this widens the choice to roughly nine syllables.
  3. A name of the nakshatra's presiding deity, which sidesteps the syllable question altogether — Rudra for Ardra, Indra for Jyeshtha, Vishnu for Shravana.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you choose a baby name from the nakshatra?
The Moon's position at the moment of birth fixes both the nakshatra and the pada within it, and the pada fixes the syllable the ritual name should begin with. There are 27 nakshatras of 13°20′, four padas of 3°20′ each, so 108 padas and 108 syllables. Find the pada, take the syllable, choose a name that begins with it. The date alone is not enough — the Moon crosses a pada in under six hours, so the birth time and place are needed.
Is the nakshatra name the child's everyday name?
Not necessarily. The syllable governs the ritual name given at the namakarana, traditionally on the eleventh or twelfth day. In many families that name is used only for ceremonies — horoscope matching, marriage rites — while the everyday name is chosen freely. Where the family wants a single name, the syllable is the constraint.
Why do some padas have no names listed?
Because the 108 syllables come from dividing the zodiac, not from asking what Sanskrit permits at the start of a word. 15 of the 98 syllables begin no established Indian name: ङ and ञ are velar and palatal nasals that cannot begin a word at all, and the retroflex stops ट, ठ, ड, ढ and ण begin almost no inherited Sanskrit word. Lists that show four names for every one of the 108 padas have invented some of them. Where a syllable is empty, three substitutions are traditional and all three are set out on each nakshatra's page.
Do the naming syllables differ between regions?
The 27 × 4 grid is standard and appears in every panchang. What varies is the roman spelling, which follows pronunciation — the same syllable appears as "Lee" or "Li", "Doo" or "Du" — and a few retroflex syllables that are substituted with their dental counterparts in practice. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali traditions also draw on their own name pools for the same syllables. A family pandit's list takes precedence over any table.
Can I pick a name from the rashi instead of the nakshatra?
Yes, and it is the recognised second option. Each rashi covers two and a quarter nakshatras — nine padas — so choosing by Moon sign widens the syllable choice from one to roughly nine. It is the standard fallback when the pada syllable yields nothing usable, and it is why the rashi is listed against every nakshatra in the table above.

Find Your Child’s Pada

The pada follows from the Moon’s exact longitude at birth, so it needs the time and place as well as the date.

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