ChettiarIndian, Tamil, Malayalam Refers to a member of any of the various South Indian castes of traders, businessmen, and merchants. The name itself may be from the Tamil honorific எட்டி (eṭṭi) or from a Sanskrit word meaning "wealth".
ChishtiUrdu From the name of the town of Chisht in present-day Herat province, Afghanistan.
ChockalingamIndian, Tamil From a nickname referring to the Hindu god Shiva, composed of the Sanskrit words चोक्का (cokkā) meaning "alluring" and लिङ्गम् (liṅga) meaning "sign, symbol, mark".
ChokalingamIndian, Tamil Variant of Chockalingam. A famous bearer is American actress and comedienne Vera Mindy Chokalingam (1979-), who uses the stage name Mindy Kaling.
ChokshiIndian From Gujarati čoksi ‘jeweler’, ‘assayer of gold and silver’, from čokəs ‘precise’, ‘circumspect’, a compound of čo- ‘four’, ‘four-way’, ‘all-round’ (Sanskrit čatus- ‘four’) + kəs ‘assaying’ (Sanskrit kạsa ‘rubbing’, ‘touchstone’).
ChucklerIndian, Telugu Telugu occupational name for a leather worker, a job historically considered spiritually polluting and impure in India, where the surname belongs to Dalit, or "Untouchables" - members of the lowest caste.
ChughtaiUrdu From the name of 13th-century Mongol ruler Chagatai Khan, borne by his present-day descendants in South Asia.
ContractorIndian (Parsi) Parsi occupational surname for a contractor, or someone who works on the basis of a contract. As the British rule of India demanded for all Parsees to adopt a surname, many adopted English vocabulary based on their occupation (i.e. Engineer or Merchant).
DaruwalaIndian (Parsi) Means "wine maker" or "wine seller" from Hindi दारू (dārū) meaning "liquor, wine, alcohol" and the suffix -वाला (-vālā) denoting an occupation.
DeolPunjabi Sikh name based on the name of a Jat clan. Etymology unexplained.
DesaiIndian, Marathi, Gujarati From a feudal title derived from Sanskrit देश (desha) meaning "country, kingdom" and स्वामिन् (svamin) meaning "owner, master, lord".
DeshmukhIndian, Marathi From the historical title देशमुख (deśmukh) meaning "district head", derived from Sanskrit देश (deśá) meaning "country, district" combined with मुख (múkha) meaning "face".
DeshpandeIndian, Marathi Means "district accountant", derived from Sanskrit देश (deśá) meaning "country, kingdom, province" combined with पण्डित (paṇḍitá) meaning "learned, wise man".
DewanIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali From a title for a high-ranking government official or minister, derived from Persian دیوان (divan) meaning "royal court, tribunal, ministry, assembly".
DewanIndian, Pakistani Status name for a treasurer or court official, from Arabic diwan "royal court", "tribunal of justice", or "treasury". Under the Mughal administration in India the dewan was usually the highest official in a state.
DeyIndian, Bengali, Assamese, Odia Derived either from Sanskrit देव (deva) meaning "god" or देय (deya) meaning "fit or proper (for a gift)".
DikshitIndian, Hindi, Odia From Sanskrit दीक्षित (dikshita) meaning "one who is initiated", ultimately from दीक्षा (diksha) meaning "initiation, dedication". The term was historically used to refer to teachers and scholars of the Brahmin caste.
DjazairiArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic الجزائر (al-Jazā’ir) meaning "the islands", referring to the country of Algeria or referring to an Algerian person. This surname could be used to refer to someone from the city of Algiers, or just a general Algerian person.
DulquerArabic The name is derived from the Arabic word "Dhul-Qarnayn". Actor Dulquer Salmaan says it means Warrior. but another meaning is "Expressive, Diplomatic"
DurraniPashto Derived from Persian در (dorr) meaning "pearl". It was historically used in the phrase padshah durr-i durran meaning "king pearl of the age", a title used by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan.
DwivediIndian, Hindi From Sanskrit द्विवेदी (dvivedi) meaning "one who has studied two Vedas", from द्वि (dvi) meaning "two" and वेद (veda) meaning "Veda".
EidArabic Means "feast, holiday, festival" in Arabic. It is typically used to refer to the two major religious holidays observed by Muslims, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
ElmahdyArabic (Egyptian) Means "the Mahdi" from Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy) meaning "guided one, rightly guided". In Islam, the term refers to a figure who will restore peace to the world.
El OuafiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "the Ouafi", derived from the given name Wafi. A bearer was AhmedBoughèra El Ouafi (1898-1959), an Algerian athlete during the French rule over the country.
El-shafeiArabic It means "the intercessor (which refers to the Prophet of Islam, who will hopefully intercede on one's behalf before God on the day of judgement)".
EngineerIndian (Parsi) Parsi name literally meaning "engineer", referring to someone who made machines or engines. As the British rule of India demanded for all Parsees to adopt a surname, many used English vocabulary based on their occupation.