Indian Last Names
Indian surnames are remarkably informative. A last name can point to a region (Kulkarni is Marathi, Iyer is Tamil), a historic occupation (Gandhi originally meant a perfume seller or grocer), a Vedic learning tradition (Trivedi, “knower of three Vedas”) or a faith, as with Singh and Kaur among Sikhs. In parts of South India, many people don’t use a family surname at all and carry their father’s given name instead.
We’ve grouped 90+ Indian last names by region with their meanings. Pair one with a first name from our Indian boy names or Indian girl names, or explore the main Indian names page.
Most common Indian surnames
These last names are found across much of India and the Indian diaspora. Singh and Kumar are so widespread that they are sometimes used as middle names.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Sharma | “Joy, shelter, protection” | North India; Brahmin |
| Singh | “Lion” | Sikh and Rajput; widely adopted |
| Kumar | “Prince, son” | Across North and East India |
| Patel | “Village headman” | Gujarat; huge global diaspora |
| Gupta | “Protected” | Merchant communities; name of an ancient empire |
| Yadav | “Descendant of Yadu” | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar; Krishna’s clan |
| Khan | “Ruler, chief” (Turkic) | Indian Muslim families |
| Das | “Servant, devotee (of God)” | Bengal, Odisha, Assam |
| Shah | “King” (Persian) | Gujarati merchant and Jain families |
| Verma | “Armor, protection” | North India |
| Mishra | Possibly “versatile, honorable” | Brahmin families of UP and Bihar |
| Jain | “Follower of Jainism” | Jain families nationwide |
| Agarwal | “From Agroha” (Haryana) | Marwari and merchant families |
North Indian and Punjabi surnames
Punjab, Delhi and the Hindi belt give us some of the best-known Indian surnames, including many made famous by Bollywood families.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Kapoor | Possibly “camphor” | Punjabi Khatri |
| Malhotra | Meaning uncertain; a clan name | Punjabi Khatri |
| Khanna | Meaning uncertain; a clan name | Punjabi Khatri |
| Chopra | Meaning uncertain; a clan name | Punjabi Khatri |
| Arora | “From Aror” (in Sindh) | Punjabi and Sindhi |
| Bhatia | Name of a trading community | Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat |
| Sethi | From <em>seth</em>, “merchant, banker” | Punjab |
| Mehra | A Khatri clan name | Punjab, Delhi |
| Chauhan | A Rajput clan | Rajasthan, North India |
| Rathore | A Rajput clan | Former rulers of Jodhpur |
| Thakur | “Lord, master” | North and Central India |
| Tiwari | From Trivedi, “knower of three Vedas” | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar |
| Dubey | From Dwivedi, “knower of two Vedas” | Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh |
| Pandey | “Learned scholar” | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar |
| Srivastava | A Kayastha clan (traditionally scribes) | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar |
| Saxena | A Kayastha clan (traditionally scribes) | Uttar Pradesh |
Gujarati and Marathi surnames
Western India is full of occupational surnames — accountants, astrologers, merchants — and the clan names of the Maratha warriors.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Desai | “Lord of the land” | Gujarat, Maharashtra |
| Mehta | “Chief, accountant” | Gujarat, Rajasthan |
| Joshi | “Astrologer” | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttarakhand |
| Parikh | “Examiner, assayer” (of coins and jewels) | Gujarat |
| Trivedi | “Knower of three Vedas” | Gujarat |
| Dave | From Dwivedi, “knower of two Vedas” | Gujarat |
| Modi | Traditionally “grocer, grain merchant” | Gujarat |
| Gandhi | “Perfume seller, grocer” | Gujarat |
| Kulkarni | “Village accountant” | Maharashtra, Karnataka |
| Deshpande | “District accountant” | Maharashtra |
| Patil | “Village headman” | Maharashtra |
| Bhosale | A Maratha clan | Shivaji’s family |
| Jadhav | A Maratha clan, traditionally from Yadava | Maharashtra |
| Shinde | A Maratha clan | The Scindia dynasty of Gwalior |
Bengali and East Indian surnames
Many Bengali Brahmin surnames were anglicized under British rule: Chattopadhyay became Chatterjee, Bandyopadhyay became Banerjee. For another naming culture with village-based surnames, compare British last names.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Chatterjee | From Chattopadhyay, “teacher from Chatta” | Bengali Brahmin |
| Banerjee | From Bandyopadhyay, “teacher from Bandyaghati” | Bengali Brahmin |
| Mukherjee | From Mukhopadhyay, “teacher from Mukhati” | Bengali Brahmin |
| Ganguly | From Gangopadhyay, “teacher from Gangagram” | Bengali Brahmin |
| Bhattacharya | “Learned teacher” | Bengal, Assam |
| Chakraborty | “Universal ruler, emperor” | Bengal |
| Ghosh | “Proclaimer, crier” | Bengal |
| Bose | Anglicized Basu, “wealth; good” | Bengal |
| Sen | Possibly from <em>sena</em>, “army” | Bengal |
| Dutta | “Given” | Bengal |
| Roy | From <em>raja</em>, “king” | Bengal |
| Mitra | “Friend”; also a sun god | Bengal |
| Pattnaik | “Leader of a town” | Odisha |
| Barua | A title in the Ahom kingdom | Assam |
South Indian surnames
In Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala and Karnataka, many people use their father’s name (or its initial) instead of a family name — so Subramaniam or Krishnan may be a patronymic rather than a surname.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Reddy | Landholder, village chief | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| Naidu | “Leader” (from <em>nayaka</em>) | Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu |
| Rao | “King, chief” | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh |
| Iyer | From a word for “respected master” | Tamil Brahmin (Shaiva) |
| Iyengar | A community title | Tamil Brahmin (Vaishnava) |
| Pillai | Honorific, “child, prince” | Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
| Nair | Traditionally a martial community title | Kerala |
| Menon | Honorific title once given to record keepers | Kerala |
| Namboodiri | A Kerala Brahmin community | Kerala |
| Hegde | “Headman” | Karnataka |
| Shetty | From <em>shreshthi</em>, “merchant, eminent person” | Karnataka (Tulu Nadu) |
| Gowda | “Village headman” | Karnataka |
| Mudaliar | “First citizen” | Tamil Nadu |
| Chettiar | Merchant community name | Tamil Nadu |
| Subramaniam | A name of Murugan; often a patronymic | Tamil Nadu |
| Krishnan | “Of Krishna”; often a patronymic | Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
Sikh and Jat surnames
All baptized Sikh men take Singh (“lion”) and women Kaur (“princess”), a practice introduced by Guru Gobind Singh to erase caste distinctions. Many families also keep a clan (got) name.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Kaur | “Princess” | All Sikh women |
| Gill | A Jat clan name | Punjab |
| Sandhu | A Jat clan name | Punjab |
| Sidhu | A Jat clan name | Punjab |
| Dhillon | A Jat clan name | Punjab |
| Grewal | A Jat clan name | Punjab |
| Bajwa | A Jat clan name | Punjab (India and Pakistan) |
Muslim, Parsi and Christian surnames
India’s religious diversity shows in its surnames. Muslim surnames often reflect Arabic or Persian lineage titles, Parsi surnames are frequently occupational, and Goan and Mangalorean Catholics carry Portuguese names. For Muslim first names, see Muslim names.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / community |
|---|---|---|
| Qureshi | “Of the Quraysh tribe” | Indian Muslim families |
| Siddiqui | “Descendant of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq” | Indian Muslim families |
| Ansari | “Helpers” (of the Prophet) | Indian Muslim families |
| Sheikh | “Elder, chief” | Indian Muslim families |
| Syed | “Descendant of the Prophet” | Indian Muslim families |
| Mirza | “Prince” (Persian) | Mughal-era nobility |
| Tata | Meaning uncertain | Parsi; the Tata business family |
| Wadia | Famous Parsi shipbuilding family | Mumbai Parsis |
| Mistry | From Portuguese <em>mestre</em>, “master craftsman” | Parsi and Gujarati |
| Engineer | Occupational name | Parsi |
| D’Souza | From Portuguese Sousa | Goan and Mangalorean Catholics |
| Fernandes | “Son of Fernando” | Goan Catholics |
| Pereira | “Pear tree” | Goan and Mangalorean Catholics |
Understanding Indian last names
- Surnames often signal a region. “-kar” endings (Tendulkar, Gavaskar) point to Maharashtra or Goa, meaning “from” a village; “-jee” endings are usually Bengali.
- Many surnames are titles, not family names. Patel, Desai and Kulkarni were administrative titles that later became hereditary.
- South Indian names work differently. A Tamil name like “R. Karthik” uses the father’s initial; abroad, the father’s full name often becomes the surname.
- Be respectful. Some surnames are linked to community or caste; many Indians today choose neutral surnames or use only Kumar, Singh or Kaur for that reason.
- Tracing roots? Temple and pilgrimage records (such as the genealogy registers kept by priests in Haridwar) can go back many generations. For comparison, see our Persian last names.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common last name in India?
Singh, Kumar, Sharma, Patel and Devi (used by many women in North India) are among the most common surnames in India, though no official national ranking exists.
Why do many South Indians not have a surname?
Traditionally in Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Kerala, people used their father’s given name or initial rather than a hereditary family name. Many adopt the father’s name as a surname when they move abroad.
What does the surname Patel mean?
Patel means “village headman.” It was a title for landholders who collected revenue in Gujarat and later became a family name for the Patidar community.
What is a Brahmin surname?
Surnames like Sharma, Mishra, Trivedi, Iyer, Banerjee and Joshi are traditionally associated with Brahmin families, though surnames alone don’t define anyone’s identity today.
Are Singh and Kaur surnames?
They function as surnames for many Sikhs: all baptized Sikh men take Singh and women take Kaur. Some Sikhs add a clan name like Gill or Sandhu after it.