Karna
Karna, also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the spiritual son of Surya and princess Kunti. His birth occurred after Kunti invoked a divine boon to test its power in her youth; fearing societal stigma over her premarital motherhood, she is forced to abandon the infant in a basket on the Ganges.
- Hinduism
Meaning & Origin of Karna
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Karna, also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the spiritual son of Surya and princess Kunti. His birth occurred after Kunti invoked a divine boon to test its power in her youth; fearing societal stigma over her premarital motherhood, she is forced to abandon the infant in a basket on the Ganges.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Hinduism
The Story of Karna
The earliest SSA record of Karna as a baby girl name dates back to 1930, when 5 babies received it. 1970 was its biggest year on record, with 30 newborns named Karna — #2,450 in the national rankings. About 32% of every Karna on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. Karna last appeared in the published SSA data in 1985, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 523 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1930s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Karna
Phonetically similar names — useful when Karna is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Karna
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About the name Karna
Karna is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1930 and has accumulated 523 births in the dataset. Karna's peak popularity came in 1970 when it ranked #2,450. Use the chart and map above to compare Karna's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1970 →
- Names of the 1970s →
- Names starting with "K" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.