Kunal
Masculine · “Sanskrit kunala”
Kunala was Ashoka's son, and the story about him is one of the hardest in Buddhist literature. His stepmother had him blinded; he bore it without resentment, and the emperor's grief is the point of the tale.
How old is the name Kunal?
Kunal first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Kunal alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 1,200 people named Kunal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kunal most popular?
Kunal peaked in 1984, reaching #1294 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 9,401 places below that high. See the whole 1984 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Kunala to Kunal
The story of Kunal
The Ashokavadana, a Sanskrit collection about the emperor Ashoka, tells the story: Kunala is sent to govern Taxila, his stepmother forges an order that his eyes be put out, the order is carried out, and he wanders as a beggar with his wife until he reaches his father, who recognizes him and would have executed the queen had Kunala not asked that she be spared. The name is said to belong to a bird whose eyes were the standard of beauty, which the story then takes away. Ashoka himself is the historical anchor: his edicts, carved on rocks and pillars across the subcontinent in the third century BC, are the oldest decipherable Indian writing and describe his turn to Buddhism after a war he came to regret.
Meaningscholars disagree
Sanskrit kunala, a bird with beautiful eyes
Kunala is the name of a son of the emperor Ashoka and is generally glossed as a Himalayan bird admired for its eyes, which the legend connects to the boy's own. The derivation is traditional rather than securely established. The American peak is 1984.
How the name formed
- Kunala
- Kunal
Related forms: Kunal · Kunala
Pronouncing Kunal
koo-NAHL
Two syllables, stress on the second. English speakers often move it to the first.
Nicknames for Kunal
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
- 199460 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1294reached in 1984
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%6 in 2025, from 6
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.
Kunal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kunal in Hindi — same name
- Kunala in Sanskrit — same name
Kunals among us
people named Kunal are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Kunal
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 Rufino test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kunal's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rufino climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rufino's path sketches the road Kunal is walking now.
Kunal 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
Kunal beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kunal in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables and five letters, easy in English.
- The story behind it is documented in an ancient text.
- It is an ordinary current name across India.
- English speakers stress the wrong syllable.
- The bird gloss is traditional rather than established.
- The 1984 peak dates its American use.
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Kunal
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kunals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Kunal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kunal in 2025?
- Kunal ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kunal?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Kunal — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kunal with classmates?
- Kunal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kunal
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kunal? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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