Khanumখানম, خانمBengali, Urdu From an aristocratic title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in the Middle East and South Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the title khan meaning "king, ruler", which is probably of Mongolian origin.
Masihمسیح, मसीहUrdu, Indian (Christian), Hindi From Urdu مسیح (masih) or Hindi मसीह (masih) referring to the Christian messiah (Jesus Christ), both ultimately from Arabic مسيح (masih). This name is common among Pakistani and North Indian Christians.
NaiduIndian The surname Naidu occurs in communities of Andhra Pradesh. It is composed of a stem word ‘naya’, which means leader or chief. The suffix ‘du’ is a third person masculine suffix in Telegu.
KrishIndian Shortened form of Krishna or of any other name beginning with Krishna (such as Krishnan, Krishnaswami, Krishnamurthy, etc.), used in the U.S. by families from southern India. It is not in use in India.
SwaminathanIndian From a personal name derived from Sanskrit Svāmi ‘Lord’ + Nātha ‘Lord’ + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -N.
SahotaਸਹੋਤਾIndian, Punjabi Derived from Punjabi ਸਹਿਆ (sahia) meaning "hare".
GundavarapuTelugu The surname Gundavarapu is believed to derive from the Telugu words "gunda" meaning "good" and "varapu" meaning "belongs to this village," collectively translating to "good village". ... [more]
VaradkarवराडकरIndian, Hindi, Marathi Derived from the name of the village of Varad in the Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, India. A famous bearer is the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar (1979-).
BukhariبخاریArabic, Urdu Indicated a person from the city of Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, itself possibly derived from Sogdian βuxārak meaning "place of good fortune".
BakhshبخشUrdu Derived from Persian بخش (bakhsh) meaning "fortune, lot, share, portion".
BadamiIndian The town of Badami is situated in the northern part of Karnataka. It was formerly known as Vatapi and was the capital of the Chalukya kingdom from the 6th to the 8th century ad.
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.
NehruनेहरूIndian, Hindi From Sanskrit नहर (nahar, nehar) meaning "canal". This name was borne by Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the first Prime Minister of India. His earliest recorded ancestor Raj Kaul adopted the name when, upon moving from Kashmir to Delhi, he was granted a jagir (feudal land grant) with a house situated on the banks of a canal... [more]
SoniHindi A Suryavanshi Khatri family, the surname originating from the Punjab region of India. In India the term caste creates a crucial distinction between Varna and Jāti, even though jati does not fit into any of the four varnas and is more often referred to as Sudras.
Gaddamగడ్డంIndian, Telugu Derived from Telugu గడ్డము (gaddamu) meaning "beard".
Shrivastavश्रीवास्तवIndian, Hindi Short form of Sanskrit श्रीवास्तव्य (shrivastavya) meaning "abode of wealth", itself from श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty, wealth, prosperity" and वास्तव्य (vastavya) meaning "residence, abode, dwelling, inhabiting".
Panditपंडित, पण्डित, পণ্ডিত, ପଣ୍ଡିତIndian, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Odia, Nepali Derived from Sanskrit पण्डित (pandita) meaning "learned, wise" or "scholar, teacher".
SonowalসোণোৱালAssamese From the name of the Sonowal Kachari people, derived from Assamese সোণ (khun) meaning "gold".
RamasamyராமசாமிTamil From the name of the Hindu god Rama 1 combined with Tamil சாமி (sami) meaning "chief, master, lord" (ultimately from Sanskrit स्वामिन् (svamin)).
Chettiarசெட்டியார், ചെട്ടിയാർIndian, 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".
LoiPunjabi The surname Loi is predominantly associated with the Sikh Punjabi Jatt community, specifically within the Jatt caste. Originating from North East Punjab, the Lois constitute a relatively small Jatt clan known for their prowess in agriculture... [more]
Asariअसारी, ആശാരിIndian, Hindi, Malayalam From a caste originating from Kerala, India. They belong to a larger group called Vishwakarma. The caste name is mostly linked to the community of people who do carpentry work.
ChandiaPunjabi Surname rarely used in Pakistani Punjab. The origin of Chandia is Pali. Chandia is a variation of the name Chanda (English and Indian).
Bhatnagarभटनागर, ନଗରIndian, Hindi, Marathi, Odia Derived from the name of a subgroup of the Kayasth community, denoting association with Hanumangarh (formerly named Bhatner), a city in Rajasthan, India.