Karthikeya as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Karthikeya

What is the meaning of the name Karthikeya ?

The baby name Karthikeya is a Male name , 4 syllables long and is pronounced /kərˈtɪkeɪə/ (kar-TIH-kay-uh).

Karthikeya is Indian, Sanskrit in Origin.

Karthikeya derives from Sanskrit Kārttikeya, a theonym for the Hindu god of war also known as Skanda, Murugan, and Subrahmanya. The root Kṛttikā refers to the Pleiades; with the patronymic suffix -eya it means “son of the Kṛttikās,” alluding to the myth that he was nurtured by the star-nymphs, and by extension “belonging to the month Kārtika.” The deity’s attributes - youth, valor, leadership - inform the name’s auspicious connotations.

Attested in the Mahābhārata and Skanda Purāṇa, the name has been used across India for centuries, especially in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi, and Bengali spheres, and in the Sri Lankan and Southeast Asian Tamil diaspora. Common variants and spellings include Kartikeya, Karthik, Kartik, Kārttikeya, and the Tamil-influenced Karthikeyan; feminine forms are Karthika/Kartika. Related theonyms used as given names are Subramanian/Subrahmanyam and Murugan. Usage often peaks around festivals such as Skanda Ṣaṣṭi, Thaipusam, and Kartik Purnima.