240 Unique Indian Baby Boy Names That Parents Can't Get Enough Of

4 min read

If you judge by all the names called out in my house, you'd guess I have a 11 kids. I only have three, but because each one of them has approximately three nicknames assigned by different members of the family, it feels like so many more. And yet, we spent so much time and care choosing a baby name for each of them.

When I started looking at baby names for my eldest, I was searching for a name that's easy to pronounce and was somehow meaningful. My husband and I scoured the internet searching for inspiration for a name for my son. If you're looking for an Indian baby boy name, I've shared my research to get you started.

Note: There are many languages spoken in India—including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, and Urdo, among many others—which means lots of sources for inspiration for baby names. In addition to referencing the Social Security Administration (SSA), which provides a list of top 1,000 baby boy names, this list was also curated from a few hidden gems I looked to when searching for my son's name: small businesses who sell South Asian-inspired baby products that can be personalized with names. These include Modi Toys, the maker of mantra-singing plush toys; Her Sun & Stars Co., which sells personalized minky blankets; and Creative Crafty Mom, who provides personalized rakhis for Raksha Bandhan. These were an unexpected source of great baby names.

Ironically enough, I found my son's name offline. But if you're struggling like we were, sources of inspiration can be anywhere, from Hindu theology to Bollywood films. Here, some top Indian baby boy names to consider in 2026 and beyond.

According to BabyNames.com, these are the top baby boy names in India right now, listed in order of their popularity, along with their meanings.

1. Shivansh, "a part of Shiva"
2. Dhruv, "the pole star; firm; immovable"
3. Kabir,"powerful; great; respected"
4. Vedant,"one who has complete knowledge of the Vedas; a master of Hindu philosophy"
5. Kiaan, "grace of God"
6. Aarav, "'wisdom; a musical note; radiance"
7. Arjun, "of the dawn; made of silver; lightning; white and dazzling"
8. Viraj, "sovereign; warrior; splendor"
9. Krishna, "a Hindu God who is considered a celebrated avatar of Lord Vishnu"
10. Avyan, "without any imperfections"

These didn't make the top 10 spots this year, but they're still on-trend (listed in alphabetical order this time).

1. Advik, "unique"
2. Akshar, "'one who is eternal or permanent"
3. Avi, "mountain; wind; sun"
4. Ayansh, "a gift from God; first rays of the sun; part of the parents"
5. Bharat, "universal monarch; fire; a name of a priest"
6. Bhuvan, "the universe; the Earth; the creator of the world"
7. Chinnodu, "small one"
8. Dhairya, "one with patience, endurance and perseverance"
9. Ivaan, "God's glorious gift; as bright as the sun; royalty"
10. Jayant, "victory; the moon"
11. Joshith, "pleased; delighted; filled with joy"
12. Kalp, "thought; idea; consideration; reflection"
13. Keshav, "one with long, lustrous hair"
14. Krishiv, "a combination of the names Krishna and Shiva"
15. Malhar, "name of a raga in Indian classical music sung especially in the rainy season"
16. Parth, "a prince or king"
17. Reyansh, "part of a stream"
18. Ved, "sacred knowledge; holy learning and scriptures of the Hindus"
19. Veer, "a brave person; a hero; a warrior"
20. Vivaan, "to twist; to plait"

The SSA keeps track of the top 1,000 baby names each year, and these names made it into the list this year. Some overlap with the lists above, but it's interesting to see where the lists differ.

1. Ayaan (No. 518 on the SSA list)
2. Arjun (No. 581)
3. Aarav (No. 675)
4. Aryan (No. 782)
5. Rohan (No. 840)
6. Kabir (No. 937)
7. Vihaan (No. 957)
8. Ishaan (No. 998)

Looking for more great baby names? Check out these Good Housekeeping lists: Disney Baby Names | Indian/Hindu Boy Names | Indian/Hindu Girl Names | Italian Baby Names | Japanese Baby Names | French Baby Names | Hispanic Boy Names | Hispanic Girl Names | Irish Boy Names | Irish Girl Names | Long Names for Boys | Long Names for Girls | Nature Baby Names | Short Names for Boys | Short Names for Girls | Gender-Neutral Names | Western/Cowboy Baby Names | 1920s Names | 1930s Names | 1940s Names | 1950s Names | 1960s Names | 1970s Names | 1980s Names

Given the vast number of gods and goddesses in Hinduism—and with each deity carrying multiple alternative names—there is no shortage of inspiration found here.

1. Anish
2. Aum
   
3. Bhagvant
   
4. Giritra
   
5. Harit
   
6. Ishan
7. Jagan
   
8. Kapil
   
9. Krish
10. Luv
    
11. Moksh
12. Nitin
    
13. Omkareswar
    
14. Panshul
    
15. Parin
16. Rishi
17. Shankar
    
18. Shivay
    
19. Veer
20. Yogish
    

While Bollywood’s scripts are no match for Hindu scriptures, the one benefit of having a prolific movie industry are the countless movie titles hitting the screens.

1. Akshay
2. Ajay
3. Anil
   
4. Ashok
   
5. Dilip
   
6. Hrithik
7. Laksh
8. Rajesh
   
9. Ram
   
10. Ranbir
    
11. Ranveer
    
12. Sajan
13. Samay
14. Siddh
15. Tarak

Ram Charan and N. T. Rama Rao Jr., also known as Tarak, dance to "Naatu Naatu" in the Telugu film RRR.

From Monkey Man star Dev Patel to The Namesake's Kal Penn, these are the Indian names you might hear on the radio or see splashed across the screen.

1. Ari
2. Deepak
   
3. Dev
4. Irfan
   
5. Jaiden
6. Jay
7. Kalpen
   
8. Manoj
   
9. Ravi
10. Zayn

The Green Knight star Dev Patel

When you want to keep it to the point, these names are short and sweet.

1. Arun
2. Asim
3. Elil
4. Hari
5. Hira
6. Ijay
7. Jaya
8. Lal
9. Manu
10. Ohas
11. Ohm
12. Ovi
    
13. Parv
    
14. Pran
15. Prem
16. Sai
    
17. Tala
18. Tej
19. Vasu
    
20. Yug

Then again, taking your time is nice, too.

1. Aaditya
2. Aravind
   
3. Bhaskar
4. Bhavatu
5. Bujjigadu
   
6. Chandra
7. Chitaksh
8. Dushyant
9. Hredhan
   
10. Jagannath
11. Jitendra
12. Kailash
13. Kalidas
14. Madhukar
15. Mahavir
16. Mahendra
17. Prabhakar
18. Samardh
19. Siddharth
20. Zeeshan

When you want to distinguish yourself from the rest, these are the names to consider.

1. Baldev
2. Daksh
   
3. Edhas
4. Ekansh
5. Haroon
6. Kairav
7. Karthik
8. Kavish
   
9. Mukul
10. Moksh
11. Neeraj
12. Nirmay
13. Pranav
14. Rithvik
15. Sarvesh
16. Shaan
    
17. Swapnil
18. Tanmay
19. Tavish
20. Vipul

No matter what the inspiration, one of these names might be perfect for your little one.

1. Akash
   
2. Akhil
3. Anand
4. Arian
5. Armaan
6. Ashwin
   
7. Ayaan
8. Barun
   
9. Bhavin
   
10. Bodhi
11. Brijesh
12. Charun
    
13. Chetan
14. Daivey
15. Deval
    
16. Devyan
    
17. Devesh
    
18. Dharma
19. Dinesh
    
20. Divit
21. Eshaan
    
22. Gaman
23. Harsh
24. Hunar
25. Illesh
26. Ishir
    
27. Jahan
28. Jairaj
29. Jayesh
30. Jiyan
31. Kahan
32. Kaiyen
33. Kamal
34. Karam
35. Kiran
36. Kriyan
37. Manav
38. Manish
39. Mayan
    
40. Mihir
    
41. Milan
42. Mitra
    
43. Mivan
44. Mohan
45. Naman
    
46. Nayan
47. Nikhil
48. Niket
    
49. Nilam
50. Nishan
51. Niyam
52. Onkar
53. Panna
54. Pavan
55. Pravin
    
56. Priyam
57. Raghav
    
58. Rahul
59. Rajiv
60. Rajveer
61. Rakesh
62. Rayan
    
63. Revan
64. Ridhan
65. Riyan
66. Rohit
    
67. Roshan
68. Rudra
69. Sachin
70. Sachiv
    
71. Sahil
72. Samesh
73. Samit
    
74. Sanjay
75. Sanjit
76. Sayan
77. Sharma
    
78. Shikhar
79. Sohum
80. Suman
    
81. Sumit
    
82. Sundar
    
83. Suraj
84. Suresh
    
85. Surya
86. Taral
    
87. Tejas
    
88. Tushar
    
89. Uttar
    
90. Vardan
91. Vihan
92. Vijay
    
93. Vikram
94. Vimal
95. Vipin
96. Vishal
    
97. Vivan
    
98. Vivek
    
99. Yash
100. Zian

Avani Modi Sarkar

 Avani Modi Sarkar is the Co-founder of Modi Toys, an award-winning children's brand of toys and books, rooted in South Asian culture and Hindu faith; in addition to authoring and publishing four children's books as part of the Modi Toys collection, she is also a contributing writer for Parents, The Bump and Good Housekeeping. Avani resides in NJ with her husband and three children.