Atharva
Masculine · “priest of fire”
Atharva names one of the four Vedas — the one full of charms and healing spells, the oldest recorded folk medicine in the Indo-European world.
How old is the name Atharva?
Atharva first appears in US birth records in 1999 — 26 years ago. The typical Atharva is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,100 people named Atharva are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Atharva most popular?
Atharva peaked in 2020, reaching #1937 nationally. Today it ranks #2056, 119 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From atharvan to Atharva
The story of Atharva
The Atharvaveda is unlike the other three: it holds spells against fever, charms for a safe childbirth, curses, love-magic and remedies, and is among the earliest records of medicine anywhere. It was admitted to the canon later than the rest. Atharva is a standard Indian given name and is in current American use.
Meaning
priest of fire; the fourth Veda
From the Sanskrit atharvan, a fire-priest, and the name of the Atharvaveda, the fourth Veda. The text collects charms, cures and household rites rather than sacrificial hymns. The Sanskrit is documented, though the word's deeper etymology is debated.
How the name formed
- atharvan
- Atharva
Related forms: अथर्व · Atharva · Atharv
Pronouncing Atharva
uh-THAR-vuh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Sanskrit gives the th an aspirated t, not the English th sound.
Nicknames for Atharva
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
- 1999
- Most boys named
- 202075 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1937reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- +9.1%72 in 2025, from 66
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.
Atharva in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- अथर्व in Sanskrit — transliteration
- Atharva in Marathi — same name
- Atharv in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New Jersey, Texas.
Atharvas among us
people named Atharva are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 23,723 born in 2025 was named Atharva
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 Cordarro test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Atharva's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cordarro climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cordarro's path sketches the road Atharva is walking now.
Atharva 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
Where Atharva is headed
Atharva should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Atharva beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Atharva in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That one Veda is a book of cures and charms is a first-rate fact.
- It names a text among the oldest surviving anywhere.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The aspirated th is regularly mispronounced by English speakers.
- It reads as specifically Indian and traditional.
- Atharv and Atharva are both in circulation.
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What they receive
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Atharva
Masculine · #2056 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Atharvas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Atharva are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Atharva in 2025?
- Atharva ranks #2056 among US boy names in 2025, with 72 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Atharva?
- About 1 in every 23,723 US boys born in 2025 was named Atharva — 72 in all.
- Will my child share the name Atharva with classmates?
- Atharva will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Atharva
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aylan#2056 · Lake#2056 · Alfie#2056 · Jamar#2056 · Farhan#2056 · Haider#2056 · Everardo#2056 · Hernan#2056
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Atharva? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Atharva and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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