Arun
Masculine · “reddish”
Aruna is the dawn, and he is a person: the charioteer who drives the sun's chariot, born prematurely and without legs because his mother could not wait and broke the egg early. He sits in front of the sun so that the world is not burned by it.
How old is the name Arun?
Arun first appears in US birth records in 1966 — 59 years ago. The typical Arun alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 1,400 people named Arun are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arun most popular?
Arun peaked in 1979, reaching #1867 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 4,936 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From aruna to Arun
The story of Arun
In the Puranic account Vinata, impatient for her sons, breaks one of her two eggs early; Aruna emerges half-formed, without legs, curses his mother for it, and becomes the charioteer of Surya, the sun. His younger brother Garuda hatches in his own time and becomes the mount of Vishnu. The story explains why the dawn glows before the sun appears: Aruna goes first. The name is used across northern and southern India and is unisex in some regions, with Aruna the more usual women's form. It reached United States records with Indian migration and had its best year in 1979.
Meaning
reddish, the glow of dawn
Sanskrit aruna, reddish or the red of dawn, personified as the sun's charioteer and the elder brother of Garuda. It is closely related to arusha, the same color word used of fire and of the sun's horses. The modern name Arun is used across India and carries both the color and the mythological figure.
How the name formed
- aruna
- Arun
Related forms: Arun · Aruna · Arun · Arun
Pronouncing Arun
uh-ROON
Two syllables with the stress at the end. English speakers often front-stress it as AH-run, which is the ordinary American adaptation.
Nicknames for Arun
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1966
- Most boys named
- 199544 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1867reached in 1979
- Change vs 2024
- −20.0%12 in 2025, from 15
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Arun in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Arun in Hindi — same name
- Aruna in Sanskrit — transliteration
- Arun in Tamil — same name
- Arun in Thai — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Aruns among us
people named Arun are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Arun
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Stirling test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Arun's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stirling climbed just as high around 1942, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stirling's path sketches the road Arun is walking now.
Arun sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Arun beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Arun in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Sanskrit meaning with a memorable story attached.
- Four letters, two syllables, and easy for English speakers.
- Used across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand.
- The stress belongs at the end and English speakers will move it.
- Aruna is the usual women's form and the two are close.
- It is close to Arjun and Arush and gets confused with both.
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What they receive
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Arun
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aruns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Arun are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arun in 2025?
- Arun ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Arun?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Arun — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Arun with classmates?
- Arun will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Arun
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arun? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arun and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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