Kartik is an Indian name linked to Kartikeya, the Hindu god of war, and to the lunar month Kartik.
Kartik is a Sanskrit name with two intersecting etymological streams that make it particularly rich. As a month-name, Kartik (or Kartika) refers to the eighth month of the Hindu lunar calendar, corresponding roughly to October–November, a period associated with festivals including Diwali and the full-moon celebration of Kartik Purnima — one of the holiest nights of the year for bathing in sacred rivers. As a divine name, Kartik refers to Kartikeya (also known as Murugan, Skanda, or Subramanya), the Hindu god of war and victory, son of Shiva and Parvati, said in one tradition to have been raised by the Krittikas — the Pleiades star cluster — from whom the name derives.
Kartikeya is particularly beloved in South Indian Tamil tradition, where he is worshipped as Murugan and regarded as the presiding deity of the Tamil people. The Arunagirinathar's Thiruppugazh hymns are among the most celebrated devotional works in Tamil literature, largely addressed to Murugan. In North India, Kartikeya is revered as the commander of the divine army who slew the demon Tarakasura, making the name an emblem of valor and spiritual strength.
In contemporary usage, Kartik has become one of the more fashionable masculine names in urban India, partly through popular actors like Kartik Aaryan who have brought it into mainstream cultural visibility. Its crisp two-syllable form, positive divine associations, and seasonal poetry make it a name that resonates across both traditional and modern Indian sensibilities.