Baby name syllables by nakshatra pada

Across most of southern India, the first syllable of a child's name is taken from the nakshatra the moon occupied at birth — specifically from which quarter of it, called the pada. Each nakshatra has four padas and each pada its own syllable, giving one hundred and eight in total.

The table below is that full set, in pada order. A child born in the first pada of Ashwini takes Chu, in the second Che, and so on. The syllable is used at namakaranam, the naming ceremony held on the eleventh or twelfth day after birth.

You will need the birth nakshatra and pada first. Find them with the janma nakshatra tool

Name syllables for each pada of the twenty-seven nakshatras
Nakshatra	Sidereal span	Pada 1	Pada 2	Pada 3	Pada 4
Ashwini	0° 00′ – 13° 20′	Chu	Che	Cho	La
Bharani	13° 20′ – 26° 40′	Li	Lu	Le	Lo
Krittika	26° 40′ – 40° 00′	A	I	U	E
Rohini	40° 00′ – 53° 20′	O	Va	Vi	Vu
Mrigashira	53° 20′ – 66° 40′	Ve	Vo	Ka	Ki
Ardra	66° 40′ – 80° 00′	Ku	Gha	Nga	Chha
Punarvasu	80° 00′ – 93° 20′	Ke	Ko	Ha	Hi
Pushya	93° 20′ – 106° 40′	Hu	He	Ho	Da
Ashlesha	106° 40′ – 120° 00′	Di	Du	De	Do
Magha	120° 00′ – 133° 20′	Ma	Mi	Mu	Me
Purva Phalguni	133° 20′ – 146° 40′	Mo	Ta	Ti	Tu
Uttara Phalguni	146° 40′ – 160° 00′	Te	To	Pa	Pi
Hasta	160° 00′ – 173° 20′	Pu	Sha	Na	Tha
Chitra	173° 20′ – 186° 40′	Pe	Po	Ra	Ri
Swati	186° 40′ – 200° 00′	Ru	Re	Ro	Ta
Vishakha	200° 00′ – 213° 20′	Ti	Tu	Te	To
Anuradha	213° 20′ – 226° 40′	Na	Ni	Nu	Ne
Jyeshtha	226° 40′ – 240° 00′	No	Ya	Yi	Yu
Mula	240° 00′ – 253° 20′	Ye	Yo	Bha	Bhi
Purva Ashadha	253° 20′ – 266° 40′	Bhu	Dha	Pha	Dha
Uttara Ashadha	266° 40′ – 280° 00′	Bhe	Bho	Ja	Ji
Shravana	280° 00′ – 293° 20′	Ju	Je	Jo	Gha
Dhanishta	293° 20′ – 306° 40′	Ga	Gi	Gu	Ge
Shatabhisha	306° 40′ – 320° 00′	Go	Sa	Si	Su
Purva Bhadrapada	320° 00′ – 333° 20′	Se	So	Da	Di
Uttara Bhadrapada	333° 20′ – 346° 40′	Du	Tha	Jha	Tra
Revati	346° 40′ – 360° 00′	De	Do	Cha	Chi

How to use the table

Find the nakshatra the moon was in at birth, read across to the column for the pada, and take the syllable there. The name is then chosen to begin with that sound — Chu might give Chudamani, Che might give Chetan. The syllable constrains the first sound only; everything after it is the family's choice.

Things worth knowing

Sources differ on a handful of syllables, particularly in Uttara Bhadrapada and Purva Ashadha. Where they do, the reading used by most published panchangams is given here, and a family purohit's list takes precedence over ours.
The syllable is a sound, not a spelling. Transliteration into English varies, and a name written Chetan or Chethan satisfies the same syllable equally.
Northern practice more often uses the rashi rather than the nakshatra pada, which gives a different and shorter list. Both are current; follow whichever your family follows.
The pada is the part most sensitive to birth time — the moon crosses one in about six hours. If the recorded time is uncertain and the pada falls near a boundary, confirm before fixing the name.
None of this is a requirement. It is a convention, kept closely by some families and loosely by others, and a name chosen outside it is not a lesser name.