Namkaran Muhurat 2026: Dates for a Baby's Naming Ceremony

January 2026 (8 dates)

February 2026 (4 dates)

March 2026 (6 dates)

April 2026 (5 dates)

May 2026 (3 dates)

June 2026 (3 dates)

July 2026 (10 dates)

August 2026 (4 dates)

September 2026 (4 dates)

October 2026 (8 dates)

November 2026 (5 dates)

December 2026 (4 dates)

When the naming ceremony is held

The household manuals of the Vedic tradition, the Grihya Sutras, place namkaran on the tenth or twelfth day after birth, once the period of birth impurity (sutak) has ended. Many North Indian families hold it on the eleventh or twelfth day; others wait for the hundredth day or the first birthday, and some communities combine it with another early rite. When the ceremony falls on its traditional day, that day is used as it comes.

A muhurat is needed when the ceremony is moved — because the mother and baby need rest, because relatives must travel, or because the family prefers a later celebration. Then the muhurta texts ask for a day that meets a set of calendar conditions, and those are the conditions applied to the 2026 list on this page.

Nakshatras favoured for naming

Sixteen nakshatras are accepted, drawn from four groups. The fixed (dhruva) stars — Rohini, Uttara Phalguni, Uttarashadha and Uttara Bhadrapada — are associated with lasting results. The movable (chara) stars are Punarvasu, Swati, Shravana, Dhanishtha and Shatabhisha. The light (kshipra) stars are Ashwini, Pushya and Hasta, and the soft (mridu) stars are Mrigashira, Chitra, Anuradha and Revati.

The harsh and fierce nakshatras, such as Ardra, Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Mula, are left out. The Moon moves through about one nakshatra a day, so a listed date usually has the right star for only part of the day; the table therefore gives the hours when both the nakshatra and the tithi conditions hold.

Tithis and weekdays

In the bright fortnight (Shukla paksha) the accepted lunar days are Dwitiya, Tritiya, Panchami, Saptami, Dashami, Ekadashi, Dwadashi and Trayodashi. In the dark fortnight (Krishna paksha) the list stops at Dashami — Pratipada, Dwitiya, Tritiya, Panchami, Saptami and Dashami — because the waning Moon is still bright enough only in its first part. The Rikta tithis (Chaturthi, Navami, Chaturdashi), Shashthi, Ashtami, Purnima and Amavasya are avoided, as is Shukla Pratipada, when the Moon has barely emerged from the new moon.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday — the days of the Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus — are the weekdays used for the list. Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday are avoided for this rite in the usual reading of the texts, though a family that keeps the traditional eleventh or twelfth day does not move it for the weekday.

Seasons, adhik maas and daylight

Because namkaran belongs to the first days of life, the long seasonal pauses that stop weddings — Kharmas, Chaturmas and the combustion of Jupiter or Venus — are not applied to it. A rescheduled naming can therefore take place in any season, and the list for 2026 runs through the rainy months as well. The one period left out is an intercalary month (adhik maas), which is avoided for any chosen beginning.

The rite is performed by day. The span shown for each date is limited to the hours between sunrise and sunset, and many families aim for the forenoon, before the midday meal they serve to guests.

Choosing the name itself

In the nakshatra tradition, each quarter (pada) of the twenty-seven nakshatras carries a syllable, and the name is often made to begin with the syllable of the pada the Moon occupied at birth. That is why families ask for the birth nakshatra and pada before choosing a name. Many children receive two names: a nakshatra name used in rituals and a name used every day.

The Grihya Sutras also give rules about the sound of a name — an even number of syllables for a boy, an odd number for a girl in some schools — which many families still follow. In the ceremony itself the father, or an elder, usually whispers the name into the baby’s right ear, and it is often written on a plate of rice or announced after a short puja.

What this list covers and what it leaves to you

Every date is computed for New Delhi with the panchang day running from sunrise to the next sunrise. Changes of tithi and nakshatra happen at fixed moments, so the hours that qualify move a little in other cities, and a date that only just meets the conditions in Delhi may not meet them far away.

The list stops at the calendar. A priest choosing the hour for one child may also check the Moon’s strength from the child’s Moon sign and the rising sign at the time of the rite, and the family may prefer a day that suits the mother’s recovery. Use the dates here as a starting point and let those considerations decide.