Varun
Masculine · “the encompassing one”
Varun is a god of the oldest layer of Indian religion — older, in the texts, than most of the gods who later overshadowed him. Varuna in the Rigveda is the keeper of cosmic order and the god of the waters and the night sky, the one who sees everything and binds those who break their word. As a modern name it is common across India, and its American peak is 2004.
How old is the name Varun?
Varun first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Varun alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 2,600 people named Varun are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Varun most popular?
Varun peaked in 2004, reaching #1090 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,771 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From vr to Varun
The story of Varun
Varuna is one of the most important gods of the Rigveda, paired with Mitra as a guardian of order and truth. In later Hinduism his role narrowed to the sea and the western direction, and other deities took the sky, but he never disappeared — he is still invoked in rites concerning water and rain. The name has been used continuously and is common in Hindi-, Tamil- and Malayalam-speaking families. American records show it from the 1970s and rising through the 1990s and 2000s with the growth of Indian communities in the United States, peaking in 2004.
Meaning
the encompassing one; god of the waters and cosmic order
Sanskrit Varuna is generally derived from the root vr, 'to cover, to encompass, to surround', which suits a god identified with the encircling waters and the vault of the sky. He is the guardian of rita, the cosmic and moral order, and in the Vedas he is invoked to forgive broken oaths. Some scholars have connected the name to Greek Ouranos, though that comparison is now widely doubted. The Sanskrit derivation itself is not contested.
How the name formed
- vr
- Varuna
- Varun
Related forms: Varuna · Varun · Varun · Waroon
Pronouncing Varun
VUH-roon
Two syllables, with the stress at the end and a long oo. The r is a light tap rather than an American r. English speakers who front-stress it, VAR-un, produce a noticeably different name; the end-stress is the standard saying.
Nicknames for Varun
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
- 1981
- Most boys named
- 2004145 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1090reached in 2004
- Change vs 2024
- −16.7%15 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.
Varun in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Varuna in Sanskrit — related form
- Varun in Hindi — same name
- Varun in Tamil — same name
- Waroon in Thai — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Varuns among us
people named Varun are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Varun
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 Christos test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Varun's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Christos climbed just as high around 1979, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Christos's path sketches the road Varun is walking now.
Varun 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
Varun beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Varun in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It names a major Vedic deity, which gives it three thousand years of documented history.
- The spelling is short, phonetic and stable across transliteration.
- Every sound in it is available to English speakers.
- English speakers commonly put the stress on the first syllable.
- Varun and Varoon are both used as transliterations.
- It is close to Arun and Tarun, which are separate names.
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What they receive
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Varun
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Varuns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,600 people named Varun are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Varun in 2025?
- Varun ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Varun?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Varun — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Varun with classmates?
- Varun will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Varun
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Varun? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Varun 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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