Karthik

/K-AA-R-T-IH-K/

Boy Hindu Sanskrit origin IndianMarathi

Named for the month of Kartika and the star cluster Krittika — Karthik is an epithet of Murugan, the youthful war god born from six divine sparks to defeat the demon Tarakasura

See Karthik scored for your family

Meaning & origin

Karthik is a boy's name of Sanskrit origin, traditionally used in Hindu families. The name means "Named for the month of Kartika and the star cluster Krittika — Karthik is an epithet of Murugan, the youthful war god born from six divine sparks to defeat the demon Tarakasura" and belongs to the Courage cluster — names for children who will grow into bold, fearless hearts.

Common among Indian, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayali families, Karthik carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.

Numerology of Karthik

Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Karthik resonates in either tradition.

Pythagorean
33
the master teacher — unconditional love in action
Chaldean
8
material mastery and executive power

How Karthik sounds

NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of Karthik breaks down into 6 phonemes: /K-AA-R-T-IH-K/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.

Nicknames

Common affectionate forms of Karthik — useful for everyday family conversation, early childhood, or as standalone given names themselves.

KariKart

The six signals, applied to Karthik

NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how Karthik maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.

01 — Birth Star
Nakshatra match
For Hindu families, NameRoot computes the auspicious starting syllables from your baby's birth nakshatra and scores Karthik against them.
02 — Numerology
Destiny alignment
Pythagorean and Chaldean life-path calculations (destiny 33) matched against your family's own numerology profile.
03 — Phonetics
Last-name fit
Rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters measured with IPA to see how Karthik flows with your family name.
04 — Meaning
Courage
Karthik belongs to the Courage cluster — names for children who will grow into bold, fearless hearts.
05 — Cultural & Tradition
Hindu
As a Hindu name, Karthik carries religious and cultural weight scored against your family's heritage — plus grandparent-name matches, saint's-day alignment, and generational naming patterns scored against your family tree.
06 — Uniqueness
Popularity balance
How common Karthik is today versus historically — finding the sweet spot between familiar and forgotten.

Names similar to Karthik

If Karthik resonates with you, these names live in the same world — drawn from the same tradition, sharing the same meaning, or echoing a similar sound.

From the same tradition

Other Hindu boy names, common in Indian families

Aarav
From Sanskrit 'arava' (peaceful, calm) or 'rav' (sound, musical note).
Vivaan
Full of life, possessing radiance, from Sanskrit vivān, combining the intensifier vi- with vā (to blow, to breathe). The name evokes the first rays of the morning sun and a vital, breathing energy, casting the bearer as one filled with luminous vitality and the quickening force of dawn.
Vihaan
From Sanskrit vihana (dawn, morning, the early hours).
Aditya
Son of Aditi, belonging to the sun, from Sanskrit, where the Adityas are the solar deities born of the boundless mother Aditi. In ordinary speech the name stands directly for Surya, the sun, making it a bright emblem of light, warmth, and celestial radiance in Hindu tradition.

Sharing the same meaning

Other Hindu boy names from the Courage cluster

Arjun
Bright, shining white, the colour of lightning and silver — Arjun is the peerless archer of the Mahabharata, the warrior to whom Lord Krishna revealed the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. His name blazes with clarity of purpose, martial skill, and the courage to act when conscience demands it
Shaurya
Valour, heroic courage, the bravery that charges forward without calculating the odds — Shaurya is the martial virtue most celebrated in the Rajput, Maratha, and Sikh warrior traditions, the quality that makes a soldier advance when retreat would be rational
Rajveer
Brave king, royal hero — combining raj (king) with veer (brave). The warrior-king who leads from the front with courage and justice.

Names that sound similar

Hindu boy names that open with the same syllables as Karthik

Kartik
Named after the sacred Hindu month and the god of war Kartikeya, son of Shiva. The month of Kartik is the holiest, when millions light lamps along the Ganges.
Karthikeyan
Son of the Krittika stars — Karthikeyan names Lord Murugan as the divine child raised by the six Krittika nymphs (the Pleiades constellation). A foundationally Tamil name carrying the cosmic motherhood of the stars themselves.
Kadamba
The kadamba tree — Kadamba (Sanskrit kadamba) names the orange-flowered tree under which Krishna played his flute in the forests of Vrindavan. The tree's globular orange blooms appear after monsoon rains.

Common questions about Karthik

What does the name Karthik mean?

Karthik means "Named for the month of Kartika and the star cluster Krittika — Karthik is an epithet of Murugan, the youthful war god born from six divine sparks to defeat the demon Tarakasura." It is a boy name of Sanskrit origin, traditionally used in Hindu families.

Is Karthik a boy or girl name?

Karthik is most commonly used as a boy name.

What is the origin of the name Karthik?

Karthik is of Sanskrit origin, used in Hindu tradition, commonly among Indian, Marathi, Bengali families.

What are common nicknames for Karthik?

Common short forms of Karthik include Kari, Kart.

What is the numerology of Karthik?

Karthik has a Pythagorean destiny number of 33 — the master teacher — unconditional love in action.

See how Karthik scores for your family

NameRoot is the only baby-name app that scores every name across 6 signals against your specific family context. Download free — Karthik is waiting.

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