| Aarush | Pranav | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | First ray of the sun; red | The sacred syllable Om |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | AH-roosh | PRUH-nav |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 2002 | 1977 |
| Peak year | 2010 (227) | 2004 (236) |
| In 2025 | 99 | 56 |
| Trend | Steady | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Aarush | Pranav |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 664 | 398 |
| 2010s | 1,860 | 1,426 |
| 2000s | 536 | 2,010 |
| 1990s | 0 | 358 |
| 1980s | 0 | 28 |
| 1970s | 0 | 5 |
From Sanskrit arusha (आरुष), 'reddish, red of dawn', commonly glossed as 'the first ray of the sun'. The 'red/dawn' sense is the attested one; 'first ray of sun' is the popular reading.
From Sanskrit pranava (प्रणव), the term for the sacred syllable 'Om', regarded as the primordial sound. A spiritually weighted name meaning the mystic syllable itself.
Aarush is more popular than Pranav today: about 99 US babies were given the name Aarush in 2025, compared with 56 named Pranav.
Aarush means First ray of the sun; red (sanskrit origin), while Pranav means The sacred syllable Om (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Aarush first appears in 2002 and Pranav in 1977, so Pranav has the longer recorded history.