Arjun
Meaning
bright, shining
The story
Arjun is Sanskrit for bright, white, shining, and in Hindu tradition it is inseparable from the Mahabharata's archer prince, the greatest warrior of the epic and the man to whom Krishna delivers the Bhagavad Gita on the eve of battle. Few names anywhere carry a text that central. When Arjuna hesitates before the war, the answer he receives became Hinduism's most read scripture. Arjun is the modern Indian form of the hero's name, and Indian families have carried it with them abroad. In US records the name is essentially absent before the 1970s, then climbs decade over decade, and it stands at its most current in the 2020s. It asks nothing of English speakers, two syllables said exactly as written, and gives a child one of the oldest hero stories in world literature.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Arjun peaked in the 2020s.
When you meet Arjun
Most people given the name Arjun in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Arjun deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Arjun truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Arjun fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Arjun travels
Indian American · hero of the Mahabharata
Indian · bright, shining (hero of the Mahabharata)
Keep exploring
Names like Arjun · Indian baby names · Indian American baby names · Warrior names
Does Arjun fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Arjun to your family’s tree →