Madhav
Masculine · “of the springtime”
Madhav is one of the names of Krishna, and it carries the sweetness of spring in it — the word behind it is the Sanskrit for honey, and the season when things flower.
How old is the name Madhav?
Madhav first appears in US birth records in 1992 — 33 years ago. The typical Madhav is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Madhav are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Madhav most popular?
Madhav peaked in 2023, reaching #3347 nationally. Today it ranks #3379, 32 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From madhu to Madhav
The story of Madhav
Madhu means honey in Sanskrit and gives the language its words for sweetness, for spring and for mead — the same root that stands behind the English word. Madhava as a name of Krishna appears throughout the devotional literature, and it is one of the thousand names recited in the Vishnu tradition. Its use as an ordinary personal name is long established across India, particularly in the west and south.
Meaningscholars disagree
of the springtime; sweet as honey
Madhava is built on madhu, honey or sweetness, which also names the spring month. As an epithet of Krishna it is read variously: descendant of Madhu, an ancestor in the Yadava line; lord of the springtime; and the sweet one. All three readings are traditional.
How the name formed
- madhu
- Madhava
- Madhav
Related forms: Madhav · Madhava · Madhav
Pronouncing Madhav
MAH-dhuv
Two syllables, first stressed. The dh is a single breathy consonant that English does not have and usually flattens to d.
Nicknames for Madhav
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
- 1992
- Most boys named
- 202335 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3347reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%34 in 2025, from 34
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.
Madhav in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Madhav in Hindi — transliteration
- Madhava in Sanskrit — same name
- Madhav in Marathi — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Madhavs among us
people named Madhav are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 50,238 born in 2025 was named Madhav
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Madhav
- #3379
- Madhav on the 2025 chart
- #887
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Madhav went to 34 boys in 2025, but Maadhav is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 41, which makes it the 887th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,492 places above the chart.
- Madhav34
- Maadhav7
About 1 boy in 41,660 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 50,238 for Madhav itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Gaberial test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Madhav's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gaberial climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gaberial's path sketches the road Madhav is walking now.
Madhav 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 Madhav is headed
Madhav 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.
Madhav beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Madhav in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled and unusually attractive set of meanings — honey, spring, sweetness.
- Madhu is a ready short form that is a complete name in its own right.
- Six letters and two syllables, short by the standards of Sanskrit names.
- The dh is a genuine Indian consonant that English lacks and will be flattened.
- Madhav, Madhava and Madhu are all used and relatives may prefer different ones.
- The devotional weight is invisible outside families who know the tradition.
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What they receive
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Madhav
Masculine · #3379 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Madhavs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Madhav are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Madhav?
- Madhav is the most-used spelling in US records — 34 of the 41 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Maadhav.
- How popular is the name Madhav in 2025?
- Madhav ranks #3379 among US boy names in 2025, with 34 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Madhav?
- About 1 in every 50,238 US boys born in 2025 was named Madhav — 34 in all.
- Will my child share the name Madhav with classmates?
- Madhav will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Madhav
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Art#3379 · Sampson#3379 · Kiernan#3379 · Benyamin#3379 · Quamir#3379 · Tuff#3379 · Mika#3379 · Hubert#3379
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Madhav? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Madhav and another name?
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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
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