Karthik
Masculine · “of the Krittikas”
Karthik belongs to a god and to a month. Kartikeya is the son of Shiva, commander of the army of the gods, worshipped as Murugan across the Tamil country; the name comes from the six Krittikas, the stars of the Pleiades who nursed him. The Tamil month Karthikai is named for the same stars.
How old is the name Karthik?
Karthik first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Karthik alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 1,500 people named Karthik are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Karthik most popular?
Karthik peaked in 2010, reaching #1834 nationally. Today it ranks #4857, 3,023 places below that high. See the whole 2010 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Krittika to Karthik
The story of Karthik
Murugan is one of the oldest deities in Tamil devotion, with hill temples across Tamil Nadu that draw enormous pilgrimages, and Kartikeya is the Sanskrit name that identifies the same god across the rest of India. The month of Karthikai carries a festival of lamps, when rows of oil lights are set out on every threshold. The name has been given for as long as there are records, and it is common among Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam-speaking families. It reached American records with South Indian migration.
Meaning
of the Krittikas, the Pleiades
Sanskrit Karttikeya, from Krittika, the star cluster English calls the Pleiades. Six of the stars are the nurses of the god in the story, which is why he is sometimes shown with six faces.
How the name formed
- Krittika
- Karttikeya
- Karthik
Related forms: कार्तिक · கார்த்திக் · Kartik
Pronouncing Karthik
KAR-tik
Two syllables, stress in front. The th is a single Indian consonant rather than the English th of think: it is a t with a breath after it, and an ordinary English t is close enough.
Nicknames for Karthik
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
- 1977
- Most boys named
- 201079 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1834reached in 2010
- Change vs 2024
- +11.1%20 in 2025, from 18
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.
Karthik in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- कार्तिक in Sanskrit — transliteration
- கார்த்திக் in Tamil — transliteration
- Kartik in Hindi — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, North Carolina.
Karthiks among us
people named Karthik are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 85,404 born in 2025 was named Karthik
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 Christon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Karthik's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Christon climbed just as high around 1985, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Christon's path sketches the road Karthik is walking now.
Karthik 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
Karthik beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Karthik in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a star cluster anyone can be shown in the winter sky.
- Karthi and Kart are ready short forms for home and for work respectively.
- It is recognized across the whole of southern India and the wider diaspora.
- English speakers say the th as in think, which is not the Indian sound.
- Karthik and Kartik are both standard, so records within a family may differ.
- It is very common in South India, so a family there may find it less distinctive than it feels elsewhere.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Karthik to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Karthik? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Karthik
Masculine · #4857 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Karthiks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Karthik are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Karthik in 2025?
- Karthik ranks #4857 among US boy names in 2025, with 20 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Karthik?
- About 1 in every 85,404 US boys born in 2025 was named Karthik — 20 in all.
- Will my child share the name Karthik with classmates?
- Karthik will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Karthik
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Carlyle#4857 · Russ#4857 · Hercules#4857 · Marcial#4857 · Lauro#4857 · Marin#4857 · Gil#4857 · Aloysius#4857
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Karthik? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Karthik and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle