The baby name Keshav is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced KEH-shav; Hindi/Sanskrit approx. /keːˈɕəʋ/ (often heard as /keˈʃav/); common English respelling: KESH-av.
The baby name Keshav is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced KEH-shav; Hindi/Sanskrit approx. /keːˈɕəʋ/ (often heard as /keˈʃav/); common English respelling: KESH-av.
Keshav is Hindu, Sanskrit in Origin.
Keshav is the Hindi form of Sanskrit Keśava (केशव), an epithet of the god Krishna/Vishnu. Etymologically from keśa “hair,” it denotes “one with beautiful (or long) hair”; devotional exegesis also reads it as “slayer of the horse-demon Keśī,” and in Vaishnava theology as “lord of the powers of Brahma and Shiva.” The name appears in the Vishnu Sahasranama and Bhagavata Purana and is widely invoked in Bhakti poetry, which helped spread it across North India.
As a given name, Keshav has been used for centuries by Hindu communities across the subcontinent and remains popular in India and the diaspora. Variant spellings include Keshava, Kesava, and the scholarly Keśava. Regional forms are Keshab (Bengali/Assamese) and Keshavan or Kesavan (Tamil/Malayalam). Related theonyms include Madhava, Govind, and Hari. Informal short forms such as Kesh occur in contemporary use.
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IN | 0 | #66 | 6 | 2,963 | |
| MV | Boys | 0 | #78 | 2 | 3,375 |
| MU | Boys | 0 | #88 | 456 | 8,477 |
| QA | 0 | #104 | 3 | 7,011 | |
| MU | 0 | #117 | 20 | 3,613 | |
| OM | 0 | #118 | 4 | 6,215 | |
| CY | Boys | 0 | #129 | 3 | 3,473 |
| BN | Boys | 0 | #137 | 3 | 6,332 |
| AE | 0 | #187 | 1 | 10,220 | |
| MO | Boys | 0 | #214 | 10 | 5,842 |
| LU | Boys | 0 | #220 | 1 | 4,970 |
| IN | Boys | 0 | #248 | 1,630 | 16,750 |
| GR | Boys | 0 | #273 | 1 | 6,912 |
| AF | Boys | 0 | #274 | 1 | 3,535 |
| JP | Boys | 0 | #276 | 22 | 7,909 |
| SG | 0 | #281 | 2 | 11,010 | |
| Canada | Boys | 2024 | #293 | 14 | 2,588 |
| SA | 0 | #311 | 2 | 10,560 | |
| CN | Boys | 0 | #325 | 7 | 9,639 |
| QA | Girls | 0 | #336 | 8 | 15,378 |
| MY | 0 | #354 | 1 | 12,352 | |
| MU | Girls | 0 | #362 | 1 | 8,539 |
| PT | Boys | 0 | #374 | 8 | 7,951 |
| JO | Boys | 0 | #387 | 3 | 7,057 |
| YE | 0 | #398 | 1 | 8,639 | |
| PH | Boys | 0 | #407 | 2 | 11,440 |
| Finland | Boys | 0 | #414 | 14 | 2,041 |
| OM | Girls | 0 | #421 | 4 | 15,987 |
| QA | Boys | 0 | #446 | 269 | 18,093 |
| SD | Boys | 0 | #466 | 1 | 10,523 |
| ZA | 0 | #473 | 2 | 14,421 | |
| BH | 0 | #497 | 57 | 17,937 | |
| PA | Boys | 0 | #505 | 1 | 9,305 |
| CR | Boys | 0 | #510 | 1 | 10,188 |
| RU | Boys | 0 | #526 | 1 | 12,621 |
| AE | Girls | 0 | #542 | 12 | 20,968 |
| HK | Boys | 0 | #549 | 9 | 12,905 |
| PS | Boys | 0 | #556 | 6 | 10,655 |
| KW | Girls | 0 | #557 | 5 | 19,177 |
| IN | Girls | 0 | #599 | 33 | 13,121 |
| BD | Boys | 0 | #602 | 4 | 10,045 |
| IL | Boys | 0 | #624 | 2 | 10,983 |
| KW | Boys | 0 | #651 | 119 | 18,755 |
| SG | Boys | 0 | #676 | 22 | 17,960 |
| LB | 0 | #689 | 2 | 13,263 | |
| IQ | Boys | 0 | #696 | 2 | 13,071 |
| AE | Boys | 0 | #736 | 370 | 22,615 |
| OM | Boys | 0 | #737 | 145 | 17,948 |
| SY | 0 | #767 | 1 | 11,684 | |
| United States | Boys | 2024 | #839 | 54 | 7,044 |
| SA | Girls | 0 | #913 | 23 | 25,931 |
| EG | Boys | 0 | #925 | 1 | 15,035 |
| NG | Boys | 0 | #1,001 | 1 | 16,906 |
| MY | Boys | 0 | #1,024 | 88 | 25,439 |
| MY | Girls | 0 | #1,066 | 7 | 24,821 |
| SA | Boys | 0 | #1,089 | 583 | 28,008 |
| ZA | Boys | 0 | #1,121 | 58 | 25,619 |
| TR | 0 | #1,254 | 1 | 19,440 | |
| IT | Boys | 0 | #1,451 | 21 | 10,046 |
Keshav is popular in 42 countries — most recent births per country:
Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!