In Indian tradition a child is not named arbitrarily. The name is chosen from the birth nakshatra: whichever nakshatra and pada the child was born in has a fixed syllable attached to it, and that syllable becomes the first sound of the name. The full table is below so you can look it up yourself.
How the syllable is decided
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ and divides into four equal padas of 3°20′. Every pada carries one assigned syllable. Twenty-seven nakshatras with four padas each gives 108 syllables in total.
You need two pieces of information: the birth nakshatra and the pada within it. Both are worked out from an accurate date, time and place of birth using a panchang. The pada matters, because the four syllables of a single nakshatra are all different.
The naming syllables for all 27 nakshatras
| Nakshatra | Pada 1 | Pada 2 | Pada 3 | Pada 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashwini | Chu | Che | Cho | La |
| Bharani | Li | Lu | Le | Lo |
| Krittika | A | I | U | E |
| Rohini | O | Va | Vi | Vu |
| Mrigashira | Ve | Vo | Ka | Ki |
| Ardra | Ku | Gha | Nga | Chha |
| Punarvasu | Ke | Ko | Ha | Hi |
| Pushya | Hu | He | Ho | Da |
| Ashlesha | Di | Du | De | Do |
| Magha | Ma | Mi | Mu | Me |
| Purva Phalguni | Mo | Ta | Ti | Tu |
| Uttara Phalguni | Te | To | Pa | Pi |
| Hasta | Pu | Sha | Na | Tha |
| Chitra | Pe | Po | Ra | Ri |
| Swati | Ru | Re | Ro | Ta |
| Vishakha | Ti | Tu | Te | To |
| Anuradha | Na | Ni | Nu | Ne |
| Jyeshtha | No | Ya | Yi | Yu |
| Mula | Ye | Yo | Bha | Bhi |
| Purva Ashadha | Bhu | Dha | Pha | Dha |
| Uttara Ashadha | Bhe | Bho | Ja | Ji |
| Shravana | Khi | Khu | Khe | Kho |
| Dhanishta | Ga | Gi | Gu | Ge |
| Shatabhisha | Go | Sa | Si | Su |
| Purva Bhadrapada | Se | So | Da | Di |
| Uttara Bhadrapada | Du | Tha | Jha | Nya |
| Revati | De | Do | Cha | Chi |
This table follows the traditional panchang. Small regional variations exist, so confirm the final choice with your family priest before settling on it.
When the naming ceremony is held
Traditionally the namkaran sanskar takes place on the eleventh or twelfth day after birth. Some families hold it on the twenty-first day or at the end of the first month. The date is fixed by looking at the muhurta, nakshatra and weekday, avoiding rikta tithis and the bhadra period.
The two-name custom
Many families keep two names. The rashi name follows the nakshatra syllable and is used for religious ceremonies, at marriage and in worship. The everyday name is what the child is called at home and at school. If nothing you like starts with the prescribed syllable, this custom gives you both.
What to weigh when choosing
- Confirm the birth nakshatra and pada first. Without the pada the syllable cannot be fixed.
- Find your pada in the table, then build a shortlist of names starting with that syllable.
- Check what the name means. Tradition puts weight on an auspicious meaning.
- Say it out loud. Your child will hear and say this name for a lifetime.
- Test the full name, first name with surname together. A name that looks good written can be awkward to say.
If you do not like the prescribed syllable
This comes up constantly. The syllable carries genuine weight in tradition, but no text says harm follows from choosing another letter. The practical answer is the two-name custom: a rashi name that follows the syllable, and a calling name of your own choosing. Tradition is honoured and the family gets the name it wanted.
