Behind the Name: Indian Surnames

ABBAS عبّاس Arabic, Urdu
From the given name ABBAS.

ABBASI عبّاسی Persian, Urdu
From the given name ABBAS.

AHMAD احمد Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name AHMAD.

AHMED احمد Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name AHMAD.

ANAND आनंद, आनन्द, आनंद, ਆਨੰਦ Indian, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi
Means "happiness, bliss" in Sanskrit.

BACHCHAN बच्चन Indian, Hindi
From Hindi बच्चा (bachcha) meaning "child", a word of Persian origin. This surname was adopted by the Indian poet Harivansh Rai Srivastava (1907-2003).

BANDYOPADHYAY বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায Bengali
From the name of the village of Bandoghat combined with upadhaya "instructor, priest".

BANERJEE বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায, ব্যানার্জী Bengali
Variant of BANDYOPADHYAY.

BHATTACHARYA भट्टाचार्य, ভট্টাচার্য Bengali
From a Bengali title composed of the Sanskrit words भट्ट (bhatta) "scholar, lord" and आचार्य (acharya) "teacher".

CHAUDHARI चौधरी, ચૌધરી Indian, Marathi, Gujarati
Variant transcription of CHAUDHARY.

CHAUDHARY चौधरी, ચૌધરી Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Nepali
From a title meaning "holder of four", from Sanskrit चतुर् (chatur) meaning "four" and धुरीय (dhuriya) "bearing a burden".

CHAUDHRI चौधरी Indian, Hindi
Variant transcription of CHAUDHARY.

CHAUDHURI চৌধুরী Bengali
Variant transcription of CHOWDHURY.

CHOUDHARY चौधरी Indian, Hindi, Marathi
Variant transcription of CHAUDHARY.

CHOUDHURY চৌধুরী Bengali
Variant transcription of CHOWDHURY.

CHOWDHURY চৌধুরী Bengali
Bengali form of CHAUDHARY.

DAS दास, দাস, ଦାସ Bengali, Indian, Assamese, Odia, Hindi, Marathi
Means "servant, devotee" in Sanskrit.

D'CRUZ Indian (Christian)
Variant of CRUZ more common among Christians from India.

D'CRUZE Indian (Christian)
Variant of CRUZ more common among Christians from India.

GADHAVI ગઢવી Indian, Gujarati
Meaning unknown, related to the Charan caste of Gujarat.

GUPTA गुप्त, গুপ্তা, ગુપ્તા, ਗੁਪਤਾ, గుప్తా Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu
Means "protected" in Sanskrit.

IYER ஐயர் Tamil
Referred to a person belonging to the Iyer subcaste of the larger Brahmin caste. The Iyer subcaste is traditionally devoted to the God Vishnu.

JAIN जैन, જૈન Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Referred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).

JOSHI जोशी, જોષી Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Nepali
From Sanskrit ज्योतिश (jyotisha) meaning "astronomer".

KAUR ਕੌਰ Indian (Sikh)
Means "princess", ultimately from Sanskrit कुमारी (kumari) meaning "girl". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh female followers the surname Kaur and all males Singh. In many instances, it is also used as a middle name with the family name serving as the surname.

KORRAPATI Indian, Telugu
Locational surname, from an area called Korra or Korrapalem. In Telugu the word pati means "belongs to".

KULKARNI कुलकर्णी Indian, Marathi
Means "village clerk, revenue collector" in Marathi.

KUMAR कुमार, কুমার, কুমাৰ, કુમાર, କୁମାର, ਕੁਮਾਰ, குமார், కుమార్, കുമാർ, ಕುಮಾರ್ Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "boy, prince" in Sanskrit.

MHASALKAR म्हैसाळकर Indian, Marathi (Rare)
Derived from the name of the town of Mhasla in Maharashtra, India.

MISHRA मिश्र Indian, Hindi, Marathi
Means "mixed, mingled, honourable" in Sanskrit.

MISRA मिश्र Indian, Hindi
Variant transcription of MISHRA.

MOHAMMED محمّد, মুহাম্মদ Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
Derived from the given name MUHAMMAD.

MUHAMMAD محمّد, মুহাম্মদ Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
Derived from the given name MUHAMMAD.

NAGARKAR नगरकर Indian, Marathi
Derived from the name of the town of Nagar in Maharashtra, India.

NARANG नारंग Indian, Hindi
From the name of a town in Pakistan which was in undivided India.

NIBHANUPUDI నిభానుపూడి Indian, Telugu
From the name of a village in Andhra Pradesh, India.

PATEL પટેલ Indian, Gujarati
Means "landowner" in Gujarati.

PATIL पाटील Indian, Marathi
Means "village chief" in Marathi.

RAO (1) రావు, ರಾವ್ Indian, Telugu, Kannada
From Sanskrit राज (raja) meaning "king".

SHARMA शर्मा, শর্মা, শৰ্মা, શર્મા, ਸ਼ਰਮਾ, சர்மா, శర్మ, ശർമ്മ, ಶರ್ಮಾ Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Nepali
Means "joy, shelter, comfort" in Sanskrit.

SHERAZI شیرازی Urdu
Urdu form of SHIRAZI.

SINGH सिंह, ਸਿੰਘ Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Indian (Sikh)
From Sanskrit सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh male followers the surname Singh and all females Kaur.

SULTANA سلطانہ, সুলতানা Bengali, Urdu, Maltese
Bengali, Urdu and Maltese form of SULTAN.

TAMBOLI तांबोळी Indian, Marathi
From the Sanskrit word ताम्बूल (tambula) meaning "betel leaves". These leaves are used in rituals and worship, and the name was originally given to a person who grew or sold them.

VEMULAKONDA వేములకొండ Indian, Telugu
Indicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

ZAMAN زمان Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name ZAMAN.

	Usage
	Initial letter
	Source
	Meaning	expand search to ancestral names the meaning is anything from the name's write-up that is surrounded by "double quotes" separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to ancestral names: meanings for names further up the family tree will be included in the search
	Description	ignore name meanings the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" will match names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus will match Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored
	Origin
	Length
	Syllables	syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results
	Pattern	the pattern will be compared to the name * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters example: oo will match names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter example: __z will match names which have two letters and then a z
	Sound	case sensitive see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee will match names which end with the sound lee* (s) will match exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)rah will match names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) will match a consonant (k) will match a consonant or consonant cluster (v) will match a vowel (p) will match a plosive or stop consonant (p) will match a fricative consonant (n) will match a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
	Related name
	Relationship	expand search to ancestral names the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive will return Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* will exclude peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree will be included
	Popularity
	Namesake
	User list	enter a behindthename.com username to search that user's public personal name lists to limit your search to a specific list, put the name of the list in brackets after the username
	Options