Karuna

/K-AH-R-UW-N-AA/

Girl Buddhist Sanskrit origin IndianNepali

Compassion — a Buddhist name grounded in the language of compassion and ethical tenderness

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Quick — what every Buddhist parent asks about Karuna:

☸️ Karuna in Buddhist tradition? 👥 Is Karuna too common? 🔢 What does Karuna's numerology say? 🔊 Does Karuna go with siblings? 👶 Is Karuna right for your baby?

The answer to all of it — NameRoot Karuna, scored for your family & heritage — free.

The one thing this page can't tell you

How well does Karuna fit your family?

This page tells you what Karuna means. The app tells you whether it's right for your baby — scored against your family & your heritage, and your baby's birth details.

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NameRoot scoring a name across six signals — phonetics, numerology, birth star, culture, meaning and uniqueness

Six signals — scored for your family & heritage, not in the abstract:

🌟

Birth starAuspicious for your baby?

🔢

NumerologyDestiny 3, matched to you

🔊

PhoneticsSounds right with siblings?

💗

MeaningThe Love cluster

🛕

HeritageWill grandparents approve?

✨

UniquenessCommon, or one-of-a-kind?

Meaning & origin

Yes — Karuna is a Buddhist girl name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “Compassion — a Buddhist name grounded in the language of compassion and ethical tenderness”.

Karuna is a girl's name of Sanskrit origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families. The name means "Compassion — a Buddhist name grounded in the language of compassion and ethical tenderness" and belongs to the Love cluster — names for children loved deeply before they arrive.

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

Karuna in the Buddhist tradition

Buddhist names often carry a virtue to aspire to — peace, wisdom, compassion. Karuna means “Compassion — a Buddhist name grounded in the language of compassion and ethical tenderness”, with Sanskrit roots.

An AI baby portrait and family score in the NameRoot app

NameRoot shows the meaning. See the full meaning and heritage of Karuna, and how it scores for your family.

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What does Karuna's numerology say?

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 Karuna resonates in either tradition.

Pythagorean

creativity and joyful expression

Chaldean

material mastery and executive power

Karuna's destiny number is 3 — but a number only matters in context. The app matches it to your family's own numbers for a real compatibility read. See Karuna's full reading →

Does Karuna go with your family's names?

Karuna breaks into 6 sounds: /K-AH-R-UW-N-AA/. The real test isn't how it sounds alone — it's how it sounds beside the names already in your family: yours, your partner's, and any brothers or sisters. NameRoot scores that harmony, so Karuna sits naturally next to a Mum and Dad like Michael & Anna, or a big sister named Gianna — no awkward clashes, no two names that blur together. Hear Karuna beside your family's names →

Nicknames

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

KaruKari

Names similar to Karuna

If Karuna 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 Buddhist girl names, common in Indian families

Priya

Beloved, dear one, she who is cherished above all — Priya is among the most tender words in Sanskrit, used in scripture and poetry to address the one held closest to the heart. It carries the warmth of a whispered endearment, simple and unadorned yet infinitely deep in its affection

Maya

Illusion, the enchanting veil that makes the world appear as solid when it is actually fluid — Maya is the great philosophical concept of Indian thought, the creative power that projects the universe like a dream upon the screen of consciousness. As a name it crosses Hindu, Buddhist, Greek, and Hebrew traditions, carrying layers of meaning: illusion, water, mother, and the intoxicating beauty of a world that may not be what it seems

Tara

A star, a fixed point of celestial light in the vast dark sky — Tara is both a Hindu and Buddhist name of deep antiquity

Kamala

The lotus flower, rising immaculate from murky waters — Kamala is among the most ancient names for Lakshmi, who stands upon a fully opened lotus in every depiction

Sharing the same meaning

Other Buddhist girl names from the Love cluster

Yua

Bound by love, tied with affection — combining yu (tie, bind, connect) with a (love, affection). A tender name expressing the unbreakable bond between parent and child, the love that connects family across generations.

Drolma

The liberator, from Tibetan sgrol ma, where sgrol means to liberate. It is the Tibetan name for Tara, the most beloved female deity of Tibetan Buddhism, the embodiment of compassionate action and the swift one who comes to free beings from suffering, cherished across every Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Dolma

Tara, the savior — Dolma is an alternate transliteration of Drolma, the Tibetan name for Tara. The two spellings are interchangeable, with "Dolma" being more common in some Tibetan refugee communities and "Drolma" in others. Both refer to the most beloved female bodhisattva in Tibetan Buddhism.

Names that sound similar

Buddhist girl names that open with the same syllables as Karuna

Kokoro

Heart, mind, spirit, from Japanese 心 (kokoro). The word names a single inseparable centre encompassing feeling, thought, and spirit together, the seat of the whole person rather than the body alone. As a name it gives a child the deep and untranslatable core of Japanese inner life.

Chetna

Consciousness, awareness — Chetna (Sanskrit चेतना) is the Sanskrit word for conscious awareness, central to Hindu and Buddhist philosophical vocabulary. The Yoga Sutras and Vedanta texts use cetana for the inner awareness that distinguishes living from non-living. A pan-Indian feminine virtue name.

Xinyu

Words of the heart — from the Mandarin xin (心, heart, mind) and yu (语, language, words, speech). A modern, poetic name evoking heartfelt expression and the tender, unspoken understanding between people, language that comes straight from feeling.

Explore more names

Keep exploring names like Karuna — by tradition, by meaning, or by first letter.

Common questions about Karuna

What does the name Karuna mean?

Karuna means "Compassion — a Buddhist name grounded in the language of compassion and ethical tenderness." It is a girl name of Sanskrit origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families.

Is Karuna a boy or girl name?

Karuna is most commonly used as a girl name.

What is the origin of the name Karuna?

Karuna is of Sanskrit origin, used in Buddhist tradition, commonly among Indian, Nepali, Marathi families.

Is Karuna a Buddhist name?

Yes. Karuna is a girl name traditionally used in Buddhist families, of Sanskrit origin.

What does Karuna mean in Sanskrit?

Karuna originates from Sanskrit, where it means "Compassion — a Buddhist name grounded in the language of compassion and ethical tenderness."

What are common nicknames for Karuna?

Common short forms of Karuna include Karu, Kari.

What is the numerology of Karuna?

Karuna has a Pythagorean destiny number of 3 — creativity and joyful expression.

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