About the name Karma
Karma is an ordinary everyday given name in Bhutan and Tibet, where its philosophical sense of action bearing fruit sits so deep in the culture that nobody hears it as heavy. English has borrowed the word with a much narrower meaning of cosmic payback, which gives the name a slightly cheeky edge it never has at home.
Karma is a unisex name of Sanskrit origin, pronounced KAR-mah. On the NameRarity scale it scores 56 out of 100, which places it in the rare band — recognisable but seldom used. Distinctive without needing to be spelled out twice. Its strongest period was the 2000s.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Karma?
Karma currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 58 people per million carry it — about 1 in 17,241. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Karma
- Karma UraBhutanese scholar and president of the Centre for Bhutan Studies
Spellings and variants of Karma
Names similar to Karma
Kiran
KIH-rahn
Ray of light, sunbeam
Krishna
KRISH-nah
Dark, deep blue-black; the eighth avatar of Vishnu
Kshama
KSHUH-mah
Forgiveness, the first of the ten supreme virtues in Jainism
Padma
PUD-mah
Lotus; an epithet of Lakshmi, also the flower of the Padma Awards
Shanti
SHAHN-tee
Peace, tranquillity; the word chanted three times to close a Vedic prayer
Kamal
kuh-MAHL
Lotus, the flower that rises out of mud
Kavi
KUH-vee
Poet, one who sees
Kirti
KEER-tee
Fame, good renown
Karma — frequently asked questions
What does the name Karma mean?
Karma means "Action and its consequence, intentional deed". It is a name of Sanskrit origin, most often given to a unisex.
How do you pronounce Karma?
Karma is pronounced KAR-mah, with 2 syllables.
How rare is the name Karma?
Karma scores 56 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it rare. Roughly 1 in every 17,241 people carry it — about 58 per million.
What is the numerology number for Karma?
Karma carries the expression number 8, known as The Powerhouse. Its soul urge number is 2 and its personality number is 6.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Karma?
The lucky number for Karma is 8 (with 17, 26, 35 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Midnight Navy. The traditional lucky day is Saturday and the associated gemstone is Onyx.