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Narayan

“He who rests on the cosmic waters; a supreme name of Vishnu”

2 syllables · 7 letters

About the name Narayan

Narayana is Vishnu asleep on the serpent Shesha in the ocean of milk, the image of divine rest from which the universe is periodically remade. It functions as a name, a greeting and an exclamation in Marathi and Gujarati households, which gives it an everyday intimacy few divine names achieve.

Narayan is a boy name of Sanskrit origin, pronounced nah-RAH-yahn. On the NameRarity scale it scores 86 out of 100, which places it in the very rare band — a genuinely uncommon pick — most people have never met anyone with this name. Its strongest period was the 1940s.

Associated with
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Name facts at a glance

Meaning
He who rests on the cosmic waters; a supreme name of Vishnu
Origin
Sanskrit
Gender
Boy
Pronunciation
nah-RAH-yahn
Syllables
2
Letters
7
US rank
Outside top 1000
Peak era
1940s
Rarity
86 / 100
Per million
~3.6
Starts with
N
Numerology
11 · The Visionary

How popular is Narayan?

Popularity14/100
Rarity86/100

Narayan currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 3.6 people per million carry it — about 1 in 277,778. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.

Famous people named Narayan

  • Narayan Debnath
    Bengali cartoonist and creator of Handa Bhonda

Spellings and variants of Narayan

NarayanaNarainNaryan

Names similar to Narayan

Very Rare

Nayan

NAH-yun

Eye, or the act of seeing

Sanskrit88% rare
Very Rare

Avyaan

uv-YAHN

Flawless, without imperfection; an epithet of Vishnu

Sanskrit88% rare
Very Rare

Naresh

nuh-RAYSH

Lord of men, a king

Sanskrit87% rare
Very Rare

Nirvaan

nir-VAHN

Liberation, freedom from worldly bonds

Sanskrit90% rare
Ultra Rare

Nivaan

nih-VAAN

Holy, one who is free of bonds

Sanskrit91% rare
Very Rare

Shivaan

shih-VAAN

Auspicious one, follower of the auspicious lord

Sanskrit88% rare
Very Rare

Hari

HUH-ree

The remover of sorrow; a principal name of Vishnu

Sanskrit77% rare
Ultra Rare

Janardan

juh-NAAR-dun

One who stirs and rescues people, an epithet of Vishnu

Sanskrit93% rare
Browse all 1,284 names →

Narayan — frequently asked questions

What does the name Narayan mean?

Narayan means "He who rests on the cosmic waters; a supreme name of Vishnu". It is a name of Sanskrit origin, most often given to a boy.

How do you pronounce Narayan?

Narayan is pronounced nah-RAH-yahn, with 2 syllables.

How rare is the name Narayan?

Narayan scores 86 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very rare. Roughly 1 in every 277,778 people carry it — about 3.6 per million.

What is the numerology number for Narayan?

Narayan carries the expression number 11, known as The Visionary. Its soul urge number is 3 and its personality number is 8.

What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Narayan?

The lucky number for Narayan is 11 (with 2, 20, 29 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Pearl Shimmer. The traditional lucky day is Monday and the associated gemstone is Moonstone.