Karthikeyan first name popularity, history and meaning

Find out how popular the first name Karthikeyan has been for the last 1 years (from 2016 to 2016) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Meaning of Karthikeyan

Son of Krittikas (the Pleiades star cluster), a Hindu warrior deity.

Popularity of Karthikeyan by gender

Based on the last 1 years of data, Karthikeyan is exclusively a male name.

For the most recent data in 2016, there were 6 male babies and 0 female babies born with the name Karthikeyan.

Year Male Count Female Count
2016 6 0

The history of the first name Karthikeyan

Karthikeyan is a Hindu masculine given name of Tamil origin. It is derived from the name of the Hindu god Kartikeya, also known as Murugan or Subrahmanya. Kartikeya is the son of the gods Shiva and Parvati, and is the god of war, wisdom, and divine velour.

The name Karthikeyan has its roots in ancient Tamil literature and Hindu mythology. It is mentioned in several ancient Tamil texts, such as the Sangam literature, which dates back to the early centuries CE. The name is also found in the Skanda Purana, a Hindu scripture dedicated to the god Kartikeya.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Karthikeyan can be found in the inscriptions of the Pallava dynasty, a prominent ruling family in South India between the 3rd and 9th centuries CE. Several Pallava rulers bore this name, including Karthikeyan Pallava, who ruled in the 7th century CE.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Karthikeyan. One of the most famous was Karthikeyan Sivasenapathy (1624-1670), a renowned Tamil scholar and poet who authored the work "Sivavakya Nidhi," a compilation of verses on Shaivism.

Another notable Karthikeyan was Karthikeyan Naicker (1823-1875), a prominent Tamil scholar and social reformer who played a significant role in the Renaissance of Tamil literature and culture in the 19th century.

In the field of music, Karthikeyan Govindaraghavan (1923-2000) was a renowned Carnatic vocalist and composer, known for his contributions to the Madurai Bani style of music.

Karthikeyan Ramasamy (1914-1977) was a prominent Indian politician and freedom fighter, who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969.

Karthikeyan Sivathamby (1938-2023) was a prominent Sri Lankan Tamil writer, known for his novels and short stories that explored the lives of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Karthikeyan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Karthikeyan, please contact us.

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"Karthikeyan first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 16, 2025. http://namecensus.com/first-names/karthikeyan-meaning-and-history/.

"Karthikeyan first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/first-names/karthikeyan-meaning-and-history/. Accessed 16 July, 2025

Karthikeyan first name popularity, history and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/first-names/karthikeyan-meaning-and-history/.

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