Tamil Submitted Surnames

BAI Indian, Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Malayalam
Perhaps derived from Hindi बाई (bāī) meaning "lady".

BALAKRISHNAN Indian, Tamil, Malayalam
From the given name BALAKRISHNA.

CAVARAI Indian, Tamil
Variant transcription of KAVARAI.

CHANDRAN Indian, Malayalam, Tamil
Derived from Sanskrit चन्द्र (candrá) meaning "glittering, shining" or "moon".

CHETTI Indian, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil
Variant transcription of CHETTY.

CHETTY Indian, Tamil, South African
Refers to a South Indian caste of merchants, agriculturalists, and land-owners.

CHOWDARY Indian, Telugu, Tamil
Variant of CHAUDHARY used in Southern India.

DEVA Indian, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil
Derived from Sanskrit देव (devá) meaning "heavenly, divine" or "deity, god".

DEVI Indian, Hindi, Punjabi, Assamese, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Odia
From Sanskrit देवी (devī́) meaning "goddess, female deity" (see the given name DEVI). It is used as a surname by women who did not originally have a family name. In 2014, this was the second most common surname in the world and the most common in several Indian states.

GANDHI Indian, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil
Means "perfume seller", derived from Sanskrit गन्ध (gandha) meaning "odour, fragrance, perfume". Notable bearers include Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), an Indian civil rights and independence leader, and Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), the first female Prime Minister of India.

GOPAL Indian, Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Punjabi
From the given name GOPAL.

GOPALAKRISHNAN Indian, Tamil, Malayalam
Combination of GOPALA and KRISHNA.

KALLA Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, meaning "priest".

KALLAN Indian, Tamil
Alternate spelling of KALLA.

KANNAN Indian, Tamil
From the given name KANNAN, the Tamil variant of KRISHNA.

KAVARAI Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, meaning "landowner".

KRISHNA Indian, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
From the given name KRISHNA.

KRISHNAN Indian, Malayalam, Tamil
Derived from the given name KRISHNA, used in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

KUMARI Indian, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Sinhalese, Pakistani
From the given name KUMARI, the feminine form of KUMAR. It is exclusively used by women.

LAKSHMI Indian, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi
From the given name LAKSHMI, the name of a Hindu goddess.

MAHADEVAN Indian, Tamil

MUDALIAR Tamil
"Mudaliar" is a combination of a Tamil word "Mudali" which means "First" and "yar" which is an honorific suffix. So the surname means "First People" or "Elite People" in Tamil.

NARAYANAN Indian, Tamil, Malayalam
From the given name NARAYANAN. A famous bearer was Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1921–2005), the 10th President of India.

ODDA Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, denoting agriculture, such as workers and laborers.

ODDAI Indian, Tamil
Alternate spelling of ODDA.

ODDAR Indian, Tamil
Alternate spelling of ODDA.

OPPARA Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, denoting an agricultural occupation.

PADAIYACHI Indian (Rare), Tamil (Rare)
Variant transcription of PADIACHY.

PADIACHY Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, denoting a footsoldier of the PALLI caste.

PADMANABHAN Tamil

PALLA Indian, Tamil
Another form of PALLI.

PALLAN Indian, Tamil
Another form of PALLI.

PALLI Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, meaning "agricultural laborers".

PARAIYA Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, denoting laborers in agriculture and/or industry. This is a surname belonging to Dalit, or "Untouchables," in the Hindu caste system.

PRASAD Indian, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Odia, Kannada
From Sanskrit प्रसाद (prasadā) meaning "clearness, brightness, purity, graciousness", ultimately from प्रसद् (prasad) "to fall into the power of". In Hinduism and Sikhism, the term refers to a type of religious food... [more]

RADHAKRISHNAN Indian, Tamil, Malayalam
Derived from Sanskrit राधा कृष्ण (rādhā-kṛṣṇa), a combination of RADHA and KRISHNA. In Hinduism, this is the combination of both feminine and masculine aspects of God.

RAJ Indian, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Odia, Urdu, Nepali, Sinhalese
From Sanskrit राज (rāja) meaning "king, chief, sovereign", ultimately from राजन् (rājan) meaning "king, sovereign, prince, chief".

RAJA Indian, Gujarati, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali
Variant of RAJ.

RAJAN Indian, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Malaysian
From the title RAJA or RAJ denoting a South Asian king or prince; mainly used in Southern India.

RAJU Indian, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi
Means "king" from Sanskrit राज (rāja) meaning "king, sovereign, chief".

RAM Indian, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Kashmiri, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Indian (Sikh)
Derived from the given name RAM (2).

RAMACHANDRAN Indian, Tamil, Malayalam
From the given name Ramachandran, a combination of RAMA and CHANDRA.

RAMAKRISHNAN Indian, Tamil
From the given name RAMAKRISHNA. A notable bearer is Tamil-American structural biologist VENKATRAMAN Ramakrishnan (1952-).

RAMAMURTHY Indian, Tamil
Derived from Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" or "dark, black" (see RAMA) combined with मूर्ति (mūrti) meaning "idol, icon".

RAMANATHAN Indian, Tamil

REDDY Indian, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Odia
Derived from Telugu రెడ్డి (reḍḍi) meaning "village headman".

SHANKAR Indian, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada
From the given name SHANKAR.

SRINIVASAN Indian, Tamil
Tamil variant of SHRINIVAS.

SURESH Indian, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada
From the given name SURESH.

THONDAN Tamil, Indian
Tamil for "devotee, votary".

UPPARA Indian, Tamil
Another form of OPPARA.

VELLALA Indian, Tamil
It is a Tamil name, denoting agricultural laborers.

VELLALAN Indian, Tamil
Alternate spelling of VELLALA.

VENKATESH Indian, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada
Means "lord of Venkata", from Venkata, the name of a hill in southern India (see VENKATA), combined with Sanskrit ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, master, husband" (see ISHA).

WAPPARA Indian, Tamil
Another form of OPPARA.

WODDA Indian, Tamil
Another form of ODDA.

YEIEN Malay, Tamil (?)