Krishna

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Krishan in PK Pakistan, LK Sri Lanka, FI Finland and 4 more, กฤษณะ in TH Thailand and Kritsana in SE Sweden.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Krishna is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name1.2M records spelled Krishna3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Krishṇa, Krishnā

• Spanish given name31K records spelled Krishna6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Chile, United States, India, Philippines

  Also written K'Rishna, Krïshnä, Krĭshna, Krïshna, K'Rïshnä

• Sinhala given name25K records spelled Krishna2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia

• Portuguese given name13K records spelled Krishna4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, India, United States, Philippines

  Also written Kŕìşhñã, Krishná, Krishṇa

• Malayalam surname6.5K records spelled Krishna18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India

  Languages: Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada

  Also written Krishnaa, Krishhnaa, கிருஷ்ணா, கிருஷ்ண, കൃഷ്ണ

• French given name5.3K records spelled Krishna5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, India, United States, Spain

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Krïshna, Krishnâ, Krîshnä

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Krishna is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Sanskrit: literally ‘black’, ‘dark’; the name of a legendary hero, later elevated to divinity and usually regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Hindu incarnation of Vishnu; river.

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, India; pers. name

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In Portuguese, Krishna (a supreme Hindu deity)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 115 years between 1897–2017. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Krishna IIIb. 939emperor
• Krishna Raja Wadiyar IVb. 1884INKing of Mysore (1884–1940)
• K. N. Singhb. 1908INnot in their usual nameIndian actor (1908–2000)
• Krishna Prasad Bhattaraib. 1924NPNepalese politician (1924-2011)
• Lal Krishna Advanib. 1927INDeputy Prime Minister of India (2002-2004)
• S. M. Krishnab. 1932INIndian politician
• Krishna Shahb. 1938INIndian film and stage director (1938–2013)
• Krishna Levyb. 1964FRFrench composer
• KKb. 1968INnot in their usual nameIndian playback singer (1968–2022)
• Krishna Nagarb. 1999INIndian para badminton player (born 1999)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 719 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Krishna?

We estimate roughly 9.5 thousand people bear Krishna (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Krishna have the most bearers?

Krishna is most frequently recorded in India, where it is most often spelled krishna.

How common is Krishna compared with other names?

In India, Krishna is the 16th most common given name of 4,777,337 given names recorded there.

Is Krishna a male or female name?

Krishna is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Krishna mean?

Recorded meaning: Hindu name from Sanskrit krsna ‘black’, an epithet of the eighth incarnation of the god Vishnu.