UK name, mostly boys
Krishna
A masculine Sanskrit name meaning "dark-colored" or "all-attractive".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Also recorded as a girls' name in the UK, with 255 girls.
Krishna is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Krishna popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1859, with 13 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2005, with 28 births.
This profile covers 418 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 46% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 415 living people in the UK are called Krishna. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Krishna ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 13 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2005, when 28 boys were registered as Krishna.
- • Krishna is also recorded for girls, but the boys side is the larger UK variant in these records.
- • About 415 living people in the UK are estimated to have Krishna as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 62.1% of Krishna registrations are for boys.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1859
2024
Births in 2024
13
Latest year
Peak year
2005
28 births
Estimated living
415
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Krishna
In England and Wales birth records, Krishna has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 62.1% of registrations are for boys and 37.9% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Krishna registered for boys
- Ranked #1,859 in 2024
- 13 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (28 births)
Krishna registered for girls
- Ranked #4,843 in 2024
- 4 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (22 births)
Meaning
What does Krishna mean?
The name Krishna originates from the Sanskrit language of ancient India, with its earliest known use dating back to the late Vedic period around the 5th century BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "kṛṣṇa," meaning "black" or "dark blue," and is believed to be associated with the deity of the same name in Hindu mythology.
Krishna is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred scripture that forms part of the epic. In these ancient texts, Krishna is revered as an avatar (incarnation) of the Hindu god Vishnu and plays a pivotal role in guiding the Pandava princes during the great war of Kurukshetra.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Krishna was Krishna Dvaipayan Vyasa, the legendary sage who is credited with compiling the Vedas and authoring the Mahabharata and the Puranas. He is believed to have lived around the 5th century BCE.
Another notable historical figure was Krishna Devaraya, the renowned emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire in southern India, who ruled from 1509 to 1529 CE. He was a great patron of literature, art, and architecture, and his reign is considered a golden age in the history of Karnataka.
In the 16th century, the Indian saint and philosopher Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also known as Krishna Chaitanya (1486-1533 CE), played a significant role in the Bhakti movement and the spread of Vaishnavism, a tradition that reveres Vishnu and his avatars, including Krishna.
During the Indian independence movement, Krishna Varma (1887-1924) was a prominent Indian revolutionary and leader of the Ghadar Party, which advocated for India's independence from British rule.
In more recent times, Krishna Raj Kapoor (1926-1988) was a renowned Indian actor and producer who starred in several iconic Bollywood films and helped shape the Hindi film industry.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Krishna, a name that holds deep cultural and religious significance in the Indian subcontinent.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Krishna over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Krishna in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Krishna, the clearest high point is 2005. The latest England and Wales figure is 13 births in 2024, compared with 28 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Krishna by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Krishna was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #2323 | 49 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1456 | 174 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1269 | 163 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1637 | 32 | 4 |
Related
Names similar to Krishna
- Kieran 30,429
- Kyle 28,463
- Kai 24,432
- Kian 17,666
- Kayden 8,305
- Kevin 7,927
- Kane 7,149
- Kaiden 5,762
- Kieron 4,547
- Kacper 4,366
- Kye 4,012
- Kit 3,529
FAQ
Krishna: questions and answers
How popular is the name Krishna in the UK right now?
In 2024, Krishna was ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales, with 13 births registered.
When was Krishna most popular?
The peak year on record was 2005, with 28 babies registered as Krishna in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Krishna?
A masculine Sanskrit name meaning "dark-colored" or "all-attractive".
How many people are called Krishna in the UK?
A total of 418 babies have been registered as Krishna across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.