Baby names The Namakarana custom gives the first syllable of the name from the pada of the Moon at birth. Choose the birth star and pada, and read the names that begin with that sound. The second mode gives the letters by rasi instead, which is the table a North Indian panchang prints.
Birth star
Set the star and the pada by hand, or take them from a horoscope.
A star covers 13°20′ of the zodiac and each of its four padas 3°20′, so the pada needs the time of birth to be certain. When the time is not known the chart is cast for noon and the pada may be the neighbouring one.
Names
Aswini pada 1 gives the syllable Chu.
10 baby names for Chu.
Few settled names begin with this sound. Families usually take another pada syllable of the same star, the rasi syllable, or the family deity name, and the list below follows that practice.
Namakarana fixes only the first syllable of the name, from the pada of the Moon at birth. The meaning, the family name and the deity are the family’s own choice, and the family astrologer settles it.
The names are offered as a starting point, not as a ruling. Meanings are given in plain English and spellings vary from one family to the next. The syllable rule is the custom; the family astrologer settles the choice, and many families keep the star name for the temple and use another name at home.