UK boy's name
Madhav
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "the wise one" or "sweet as honey".
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.
Madhav is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Madhav popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1402, with 19 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 19 births.
This profile covers 138 England and Wales registrations across 20 recorded years from 2001 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.
Madhav is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 137 living people in the UK are called Madhav. 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
- • Madhav ranked #1402 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 19 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2024, when 19 boys were registered as Madhav.
- • About 137 living people in the UK are estimated to have Madhav as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1402
2024
Births in 2024
19
Latest year
Peak year
2024
19 births
Estimated living
137
2026
Meaning
What does Madhav mean?
The name Madhav is of Sanskrit origin and it is derived from the words "madhu" meaning honey or sweet, and "dhaav" meaning flow or stream. The name is commonly found in Hindu communities across the Indian subcontinent, particularly in northern and central India. It is believed to have originated around the 5th century BCE during the Vedic period.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Madhav can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas, where it is used as one of the names of the Hindu god Vishnu. In these texts, the name is associated with Vishnu's divine attributes of sweetness, grace, and the source of spiritual sustenance.
One of the earliest historical figures to bear the name Madhav was Madhavacharya, a renowned 13th-century Hindu philosopher and scholar from the state of Karnataka in southern India. He was a proponent of the Dvaita school of Vedanta and authored several influential works, including the Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha.
In the 16th century, Madhav Vidyaranya was a prominent Hindu guru and the founder of the Vijayanagara Empire in southern India. He served as the spiritual preceptor of the empire's first ruler, Harihara I, and played a significant role in the empire's establishment and growth.
During the 17th century, Madhav Rao Peshwa was a prominent statesman and the founder of the Maratha Empire's Peshwa dynasty. He served as the chief minister and de facto ruler of the empire under the nominal rule of the Maratha king Shahu.
In more recent times, Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar was an influential ideologue and the second Sarsanghchalak (Supreme Leader) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization in India. He served as the head of the organization from 1940 to 1973 and played a key role in shaping its ideology and growth.
Madhav Kundu was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and exponent of the Gwalior gharana (stylistic tradition) of Hindustani classical music. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1992 for his contributions to music.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Madhav over time
The chart below shows babies named Madhav registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2001 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 Madhav, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 19 births in 2024, compared with 19 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madhav by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Madhav 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 | #2752 | 45 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2810 | 65 | 9 |
| 2000s | #2916 | 28 | 6 |
Related
Names similar to Madhav
- Matthew 80,931
- Mohammed 74,321
- Muhammad 72,235
- Max 59,807
- Michael 47,075
- Mason 38,935
- Mohammad 25,910
- Morgan 15,994
- Muhammed 11,527
- Mark 11,336
- Marcus 11,257
- Maxwell 10,006
FAQ
Madhav: questions and answers
How popular is the name Madhav in the UK right now?
In 2024, Madhav was ranked #1402 for boys in England and Wales, with 19 births registered.
When was Madhav most popular?
The peak year on record was 2024, with 19 babies registered as Madhav in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Madhav?
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "the wise one" or "sweet as honey".
How many people are called Madhav in the UK?
A total of 138 babies have been registered as Madhav across the 20 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.