Short answer: Kundli milan by name takes the first syllable of the bride’s and groom’s names, finds the nakshatra pada each sound belongs to, and runs the usual 36 guna table on those two stars. It is a quick first screen when birth details are missing. It cannot check Manglik status, the 7th house, the Navamsa or the dashas, so it is never the final word.
Updated 8 November 2026
How does kundli milan by name work?
Every birth star, or nakshatra, is split into four quarters called padas, and each pada has a sound attached to it. There are 27 nakshatras, so there are 108 sounds. In the old naming custom the priest looked at the pada of the baby’s Moon and suggested a name that began with that sound. Name matching simply runs that custom backwards.
- Say the name the way the family says it, and take its first syllable.
- Find that syllable in the letter table. It gives a nakshatra and a pada.
- The pada also fixes the rashi, since every pada sits inside one sign.
- Do the same for the other person.
- Run the eight kootas of gun milan on the two stars and the two signs, exactly as you would with birth details.
The arithmetic after step three is identical to the birth-based method. The only difference is where the stars come from: a sound in a name rather than the Moon’s real position at birth. If you want the whole syllable list, my rashi by name letter table has all 108 sounds by sign.
Which name should be used?
This is where most confusion starts. The tradition says that when birth details are not available, you use the name a person is commonly called by, the one people actually call out, not a formal name on a certificate that nobody uses. In practice:
- If the person was named by the nakshatra custom, use that name. It should match the birth star anyway.
- If there is a pet name the whole family uses, many priests prefer it to the school name.
- Do not use a surname, and do not add titles like Shri or Kumari.
- With compound names such as Ramprasad or Shivkumar, take the first sound only.
Conjunct sounds are a real problem. “Priya” starts with Pri, which most tables treat as Pi. “Shreya” and “Shravan” start with Shr, which different panchangs place in different signs. “Kshitij” has no clean entry at all. When a name falls in these grey areas, a name match can land in two different nakshatras depending on who does it, and I would say so before giving any number.
A worked example with two made-up names
Take a groom called Rohit and a bride called Pooja. Neither is a real client; the names just make the steps easy to follow.
| Step | Rohit | Pooja |
|---|---|---|
| First syllable | Ro | Pu |
| Nakshatra and pada | Swati, pada 3 | Hasta, pada 1 |
| Rashi | Tula (Libra) | Kanya (Virgo) |
| Nadi | Antya | Adi |
| Gana | Deva | Deva |
| Yoni | Buffalo | Buffalo |
Run through the eight kootas and this pair scores 26.5 out of 36 by the usual tables. Full marks come in Nadi (different nadis), Gana (both Deva), Yoni (the same animal) and Graha Maitri, since Venus and Mercury, the lords of Tula and Kanya, are friends. Bhakoot scores zero, because Kanya and Tula sit next to each other, a 2 and 12 relationship. The friendship of the two sign lords is one of the classical reliefs for that zero.
On paper that is a comfortable match. But all of it rests on the assumption that Rohit’s Moon really was in Swati and Pooja’s in Hasta. If Pooja was named after a grandmother and her Moon was actually in Chitra, the picture shifts. Chitra pada 3 or 4 would put her in Tula, the same sign as Rohit, and Bhakoot would then score in full. Other kootas would move too. That one fact can swing the total by several points.
Why name matching is only a rough check
Most people today were not named by their nakshatra. They were named after a deity, a film star, a grandparent, or simply a name the parents liked. In those cases the name tells you nothing about the sky at birth. You are matching two sounds, not two people.
There is a second weakness. Even a perfectly matched name gives only the Moon’s star. The guna table was always meant to be the first step of matching, and it only compares two Moons. It never looked at the rest of the chart, and a name cannot supply the rest of the chart.
So I treat a name score the way you would treat a quick blood pressure check at a pharmacy counter. It can tell you whether a proper check is needed. It cannot replace one.
What kundli milan by name cannot tell you
| Check | Needs | Possible by name? |
|---|---|---|
| 36 guna score | Moon nakshatra of both | Only as an estimate |
| Nadi and Bhakoot cancellations | Real Moon signs and stars | Only if the name was given by nakshatra |
| Manglik status | Mars by house from lagna, Moon and Venus | No |
| 7th house and its lord | Exact birth time | No |
| Navamsa (D9) | Exact birth time | No |
| Dasha timing after the wedding | Birth date and Moon degree | No |
Manglik status matters to many families as much as the guna score, and a name cannot show it. Mars is read by house from the lagna and the Moon, which needs a birth date and ideally a time; my page on Manglik dosha and its cancellations sets out the rules. A zero in Nadi from a name match is also not something to act on until the real stars are known. The exceptions are explained on my nadi dosh page, and many of them depend on details a name does not carry.
When to move to full kundli matching
As soon as you have any of these, switch to birth-based matching:
- Both dates of birth. Even without times, the Moon’s sign is known for most days and often its nakshatra too.
- One full set of birth details. You can match that chart properly and use the name only for the other person, and say so clearly.
- An app or a priest has flagged a dosha from names. Check it with real data before it becomes a family worry.
When both full sets of birth details exist, the name score has no role at all. A proper kundli matching reads the 36 points from the real Moons and then goes through both charts.
Getting a match read properly
If all you have is names, I can still give you an honest view of what the name match suggests and how much weight it deserves. If you can find birth dates, even approximate times, I will work from those instead. Send both names, whatever birth details exist, and the system your family follows. The call is 45 minutes by video or phone, in English, Hindi or Bengali, with written notes within 48 hours. Book a matching session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is kundli milan by name accurate?
Only when both people were named by the nakshatra custom. Then the first syllable reflects the real birth star and the score is meaningful. For a name chosen any other way, the score is a guess dressed up as a number.
Which name is used in kundli milan by name, the official one or the calling name?
The tradition favours the name a person is commonly called by. If a family uses a pet name every day and the official name only on paper, many priests take the pet name. I always tell you which one I used.
Can kundli milan by name detect Manglik dosha?
No. Manglik status depends on which house Mars occupies from the lagna, the Moon and Venus, and that needs at least a birth date. A name gives only a nakshatra.
What is a good score in kundli milan by name?
The same line applies as for birth matching: 18 out of 36 is the usual minimum, and above 25 is seen as good. But a name score carries much less weight, so I would not reject or accept a match on it alone.
My name match shows Nadi dosha. Should we worry?
Not yet. A Nadi zero from names may simply vanish once the real birth stars are known, and even with real stars there are classical exceptions. Find the birth dates first, then check again.
