Keshav
Masculine · “having fine hair”
Keshav is an epithet of Krishna — the one with fine hair — and it is also read as the slayer of the demon Keshi.
How old is the name Keshav?
Keshav first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Keshav alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 1,400 people named Keshav are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Keshav most popular?
Keshav peaked in 2025, reaching #2108 nationally. Today it ranks #2108, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From kesha to Keshav
The story of Keshav
Keshava is among the thousand names of Vishnu and a standard epithet of Krishna. The Keshi story has Krishna kill a horse-demon sent by Kamsa, and the epithet is read from it. Both explanations appear in classical commentary. Keshav is a standard Indian given name and is in current American use.
Meaningscholars disagree
having fine hair; slayer of Keshi
From the Sanskrit keshava, from kesha, 'hair' — 'having beautiful hair'. A second traditional reading derives it from Keshi, a horse-demon Krishna killed. Both readings are given in Hindu commentary. The kesha root is documented; which sense is primary is disputed.
How the name formed
- kesha
- Keshava
- Keshav
Related forms: केशव · Keshav · Keshava
Pronouncing Keshav
KAY-shuv
Two syllables, stress on the first. Sanskrit gives the final v a lighter, w-like value.
Nicknames for Keshav
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
- 1987
- Most boys named
- 202569 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2108reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +25.5%69 in 2025, from 55
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.
Keshav in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- केशव in Sanskrit — transliteration
- Keshav in Hindi — same name
- Keshava in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New Jersey, Texas.
Keshavs among us
people named Keshav are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 24,755 born in 2025 was named Keshav
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 Davide test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Keshav's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Davide climbed just as high around 1968, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Davide's path sketches the road Keshav is walking now.
Keshav 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 Keshav is headed
Keshav 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.
Keshav beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Keshav in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is one of the thousand names of Vishnu, which is real weight.
- Both traditional readings are vivid and well documented.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- The two readings are quite different and neither is settled.
- It reads as specifically Hindu.
- Keshav and Keshava are both in circulation.
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What they receive
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Keshav
Masculine · #2108 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Keshavs 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 Keshav are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Keshav in 2025?
- Keshav ranks #2108 among US boy names in 2025, with 69 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Keshav?
- About 1 in every 24,755 US boys born in 2025 was named Keshav — 69 in all.
- Will my child share the name Keshav with classmates?
- Keshav will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Keshav
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ayven#2108 · Artist#2108 · Khyrie#2108 · Darryl#2108 · Armoni#2108 · Aero#2108 · Cai#2108 · Ansh#2108
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Keshav? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Keshav and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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