| Shiv | Aarnav | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Auspicious; Lord Shiva | Ocean, sea |
| Origin | Sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | SHIV | AHR-nuhv |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1984 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2024 (92) | 2012 (62) |
| In 2025 | 92 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Shiv | Aarnav |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 505 | 88 |
| 2010s | 719 | 345 |
| 2000s | 627 | 138 |
| 1990s | 291 | 0 |
| 1980s | 51 | 0 |
Shiv names Lord Shiva and means “auspicious” or “benign.”
From the Sanskrit अर्णव (arṇava), meaning 'ocean' or 'sea', literally 'the foaming/surging water'. A well-established classical Sanskrit word for a great body of water, commonly spelled Arnav or Aarnav.
Shiv is more popular than Aarnav today: about 92 US babies were given the name Shiv in 2025, compared with 0 named Aarnav.
Shiv means Auspicious; Lord Shiva (Sanskrit origin), while Aarnav means Ocean, sea (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Shiv first appears in 1984 and Aarnav in 0, so Aarnav has the longer recorded history.