About the name Karna
Karna is the Mahabharata's great outsider, born of the sun god, raised by a charioteer and destined to lose to the half-brother he never knew he had. Modern parents more often choose the softened Karan, but the older form keeps a tragic grandeur that the shorter one lacks.
Karna is a boy name of Sanskrit origin, pronounced KAR-nah. On the NameRarity scale it scores 92 out of 100, which places it in the ultra rare band — fewer than 1 in 10,000 people carry this name. You will almost never meet another. Its strongest period was the classical era.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Karna?
Karna currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 2.1 people per million carry it — about 1 in 476,190. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Karna
We have not catalogued a widely known public figure named Karna yet. That is part of what makes it a distinctive choice — the name is not already attached to someone else in most people's minds.
Spellings and variants of Karna
Names similar to Karna
Aarna
AAR-naa
Wave or flowing water, an epithet of Lakshmi
Arnav
AR-nahv
Ocean, great flowing water
Kashyap
KAHSH-yahp
Tortoise; a primordial Vedic sage and progenitor
Zarna
ZUR-naa
A natural spring, water rising from rock
Angad
UN-gud
Armlet or bracelet worn on the upper arm, and the vanara prince of the Ramayana
Atul
uh-TOOL
Incomparable, without equal
Ganesh
gah-NAYSH
Lord of the ganas; the elephant-headed remover of obstacles
Hari
HUH-ree
The remover of sorrow; a principal name of Vishnu
Karna — frequently asked questions
What does the name Karna mean?
Karna means "Ear; the sun-born warrior of the Mahabharata". It is a name of Sanskrit origin, most often given to a boy.
How do you pronounce Karna?
Karna is pronounced KAR-nah, with 2 syllables.
How rare is the name Karna?
Karna scores 92 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it ultra rare. Roughly 1 in every 476,190 people carry it — about 2.1 per million.
What is the numerology number for Karna?
Karna carries the expression number 9, known as The Humanitarian. Its soul urge number is 2 and its personality number is 7.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Karna?
The lucky number for Karna is 9 (with 18, 27, 36 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Coral Flame. The traditional lucky day is Tuesday and the associated gemstone is Bloodstone.