Om is the sacred syllable of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, chanted at the start of prayers and mantras and understood as "the primordial sound" or "the sound of the universe". As a given name it is used in India and by Indian American families, often as a short form of longer names such as Omkar. Om peaked in the United States at number 1174 in 2008 and stands at number 2177 in 2025.