Rashi name finder
Choose your baby’s rashi (Moon sign), or the nakshatra and pada if you know them, to see the traditional starting syllables for a name in English letters and Devanagari. Every answer comes from the same table as our letter charts.
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How to find your baby’s rashi and nakshatra
Both describe where the Moon was at the moment of birth, measured in the sidereal zodiac of Vedic astrology. The rashi is the Moon’s sign, not the Sun sign of a Western horoscope; the nakshatra and its pada pin the Moon down more precisely.
- They are written in the baby’s birth chart (kundli), calculated for the exact date, time and place of birth. Many families get them from the priest or astrologer who prepares it.
- If you know only the rashi, choose it: any of its nine syllables starts a rashi name.
- If you know the nakshatra but not the pada, choose “Not sure”: the finder shows all four syllables and the rashi of each pada.
- Go by the Devanagari, not the English spelling: Da, Di, Du, De, Do, Ta, Ti, Tu, Te, To, Na, Tha and Dha each stand for more than one sound in English letters, and the Devanagari shows which one is meant.
Already have a name in mind? Rashi by name shows the rashi and nakshatra pada its first syllable falls in, and nakshatra by name adds the ruling planet.
To find the birth star itself from the date and time of birth, use the nakshatra calculator by date of birth or rashi by date of birth, or ask a family priest or astrologer.
How nakshatra padas make up a rashi
Each of the 27 nakshatras has four padas, and each pada has its own syllable. A rashi spans exactly nine padas, so it inherits nine syllables from the nakshatras it contains. Kark (Cancer), for example, holds Punarvasu pada 4, Pushya padas 1–4 and Ashlesha padas 1–4, so its letters are Hi, Hu, He, Ho, Da, Di, Du, De, Do (ही, हू, हे, हो, डा, डी, डू, डे, डो).
Nakshatras that span two rashis
A rashi boundary falls inside 9 of the 27 nakshatras, so their padas belong to two different rashis. For these, the pada decides the rashi, and a family naming by rashi needs the pada (or the birth time) as well:
- Krittika: pada 1 in Mesh, padas 2–4 in Vrishabh
- Mrigashira: padas 1–2 in Vrishabh, padas 3–4 in Mithun
- Punarvasu: padas 1–3 in Mithun, pada 4 in Kark
- Uttara Phalguni: pada 1 in Singh, padas 2–4 in Kanya
- Chitra: padas 1–2 in Kanya, padas 3–4 in Tula
- Vishakha: padas 1–3 in Tula, pada 4 in Vrishchik
- Uttara Ashadha: pada 1 in Dhanu, padas 2–4 in Makar
- Dhanishta: padas 1–2 in Makar, padas 3–4 in Kumbh
- Purva Bhadrapada: padas 1–3 in Kumbh, pada 4 in Meen
The other 18 nakshatras lie wholly inside one rashi.
Learn more
- Nakshatra letters chart: the syllable of all 108 padas on one page, with the regional variants.
- Rashi letters chart: the nine letters of all 12 rashis side by side.
- The 27 nakshatras explained and the 12 rashis explained: each nakshatra and rashi with its ruling planet and zodiac span.
- Namkaran ceremony: how the first letter is chosen on the naming day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a nakshatra name and a rashi name?
A nakshatra name begins with the one syllable of the pada the Moon occupied at birth, for example He for Pushya pada 2. A rashi name may begin with any of the nine syllables of the Moon's rashi, so it leaves more choice. Families and regions differ in which they follow.
We know the nakshatra but not the pada. What can we use?
Choose the nakshatra and leave the pada as "Not sure": the finder shows all four syllables and the rashi of each pada. For 18 of the 27 nakshatras all four padas lie in one rashi, so the rashi letters are settled even without the pada. For the other 9, the pada decides the rashi, and the exact birth time settles the pada.
Does the finder need the baby's birth date or time?
No. It does not calculate a birth chart: you choose a rashi or nakshatra you already know, and it looks up the traditional syllables. Nothing you choose is stored.
Why does our priest or panchang give a different syllable?
Published tables agree on most padas but not all. Shravana and the fourth pada of Uttara Bhadrapada have well-known regional variants, which the finder points out when they apply, and Tamil and Telugu naming traditions follow their own conventions. If your family or priest uses another reading, follow it.