| Krishna | Shiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Dark; black | Auspicious; Lord Shiva |
| Origin | sanskrit | Sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | KRISH-nuh | SHIV |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1984 |
| Peak year | 2007 (85) | 2024 (92) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 92 |
| Trend | Steady | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Krishna | Shiv |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 339 | 505 |
| 2010s | 673 | 719 |
| 2000s | 655 | 627 |
| 1990s | 346 | 291 |
| 1980s | 152 | 51 |
| 1970s | 162 | 0 |
| 1960s | 53 | 0 |
| 1950s | 5 | 0 |
From Sanskrit krishna (कृष्ण), literally 'black, dark, dark-blue'. It is the name of the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the beloved deity of the Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata, so the name is first and foremost a divine name.
Shiv names Lord Shiva and means “auspicious” or “benign.”
Shiv is more popular than Krishna today: about 92 US babies were given the name Shiv in 2025, compared with 0 named Krishna.
Krishna means Dark; black (sanskrit origin), while Shiv means Auspicious; Lord Shiva (Sanskrit origin).
In US records, Krishna first appears in 0 and Shiv in 1984, so Krishna has the longer recorded history.