Kundli Milan by Name, How It Works and When to Use It

Kundli milan by name works by taking the first syllable of the boy's and girl's names, finding the nakshatra pada that syllable belongs to, and then doing gun milan on those two stars. It is quick, but it is the least reliable way to match, because most names today are not chosen from the birth star. Use it only when the date of birth is not known.

Even the tools that offer it say so. AstroSage's name matching page says the most accurate matching is the one done on the date, time and place of birth.

How Name-Based Matching Works

The method rests on an old naming custom. Each of the 27 nakshatras has 4 padas, so there are 108 padas in all. Each pada is linked to one syllable, called the swar or namakshar. Traditionally, a baby's name started with the syllable of the pada the moon was in at birth.

Name matching runs this custom backwards:

1. Take the first syllable of the name.
2. Find the nakshatra pada that syllable belongs to.
3. Treat that star, and its rasi, as the person's birth star and moon sign.
4. Do the normal 36-point gun milan between the two stars.

If the name really was given by the birth star, this gives the right answer. If it was not, the whole match is built on the wrong star.

The Syllable Table

This is the table Drik Panchang publishes on its Hindu name initials page, with the same spellings.

The syllables follow the Hindi (Devanagari) sounds, so "Raa" is the long a of Rakesh, not a short a. That detail matters when you match names written in English.

A Worked Example

Take a boy named Rakesh and a girl named Meera. These are example names only.

• Rakesh starts with "Raa". That is Chitra pada 3, which falls in Tula rasi.
• Meera starts with "Mee". That is Magha pada 2, in Simha rasi.

Now match Chitra (Tula) with Magha (Simha) as you would any two stars:

On these three heavy kootas the pair does well. Now suppose Rakesh was really born in Rohini and Meera in Pushya. Then none of this means anything.

Why It Often Goes Wrong

There are three common reasons.

First, most names are not chosen by star. Parents pick a name they like. Or a grandparent's name, or a cricketer's. Only some families still go to the priest for the namakshar.

Second, some syllables appear in more than one star. "Taa" is listed for both Purva Phalguni pada 2 and Swati pada 4. "Tee", "Too", "Te" and "To" turn up in both the Phalguni stars and Vishakha. "Do" and "De" belong to both Ashlesha and Revati, and "Dee" to both Ashlesha and Purva Bhadrapada. A name like Deepak can point to two different stars.

Third, English spelling hides the sound. Rajat starts with a short "ra" and Rakesh with a long "raa", but both are spelt R-a in English. A tool that reads only the English letters cannot tell them apart.

Some families keep two names for this reason: the namakaran name used for the horoscope, and the everyday name. AstroSage also advises using the name sign (naam rasi) and not the popular name, when the family knows it.

When It Is Okay to Use

Name matching has a place when:

• the date of birth is truly not known, as with some older relatives or adopted children
• the family named the child by the namakshar, and the name's first syllable is the birth syllable
• you only want a rough first look before asking for the real birth details

If the date of birth is known, even without the time, use it instead. The moon's star and rasi from the date are far more reliable than the name's first sound. Our page on kundli milan without birth time explains how.

Name Matching and Date of Birth Matching

For the steps of matching by date of birth, see kundali milan kaise kare. For what each koota means, see the 36 gun milan guide.

On the Biodata

A biodata that carries both the name and the birth details lets the other family match whichever way their pandit prefers.

If your family gave a name by the namakshar, add it in our maker with Add Your Own Field in Personal Details, as "Birth name" or "Janma naav". There is no ready field for it. Fill in the date, time and place of birth too, and the maker works out the real nakshatra and rasi. Make a biodata with horoscope to see both side by side.