100 Cool Indian Last Names
Indian surnames, which are last names, are of enormous cultural, regional, and historical significance.
They serve as clear indicators of a person’s ancestry, caste, profession, or birthplaces.
Due to vast diversity in India, surnames differ enormously among various communities and linguistic groups.
From the common Patels of Gujarat, the Sharmas of North India to the Iyers of Tamil Nadu-each name has its unique story to tell.
In this blog post, we will take a look into the amazing world of Indian last names, what they mean, and the traditions they carry behind them.
Indian Last Names
Sharma – Derived from Sanskrit śrama, meaning “joy” or “comfort”; commonly used by Brahmins.
Verma – Meaning “protection” or “armor”; used by various Kshatriya communities.
Gupta – Means “protector” or “governor”; historically associated with merchants and rulers.
Agarwal – Derived from Agroha, an ancient city; commonly associated with the trading community.
Bajpai – A variant of Vajpayee, meaning “priest who performs Vedic rituals.”
Chopra – A surname from the Khatri community, possibly derived from a military rank.
Mehta – Derived from mukhya (chief); historically associated with administrators and merchants.
Jain – Refers to followers of Jainism, meaning “victorious” in Sanskrit.
Thakur – Meaning “lord” or “master,” often used by Rajputs and landowning families.
Singh – Meaning “lion,” a common surname among Rajputs and Sikhs.
Kaur – Meaning “princess,” traditionally used by Sikh women.
Bhatia – Originally referring to traders and merchants from the Bhat community.
Choudhary – Meaning “holder of four lands,” historically a title for landlords.
Malhotra – A variant of Mehra, a surname from the Khatri community.
Kapoor – Believed to originate from kapoor (camphor); a prominent Punjabi surname.
Khanna – Derived from khanda (sword), associated with the Khatri community.
Saxena – Derived from Shakhadev, meaning “leader of a branch”; associated with Kayasthas.
Mathur – Refers to people from Mathura, a sacred Hindu city.
Tripathi – Meaning “one who is well-versed in three Vedas”; a common Brahmin surname.
Dwivedi – Meaning “knower of two Vedas”; a Brahmin surname.
Chaturvedi – Meaning “knower of four Vedas”; a scholarly Brahmin surname.
Tiwari – Derived from trivedi, meaning “one who has studied three Vedas.”
Pandey – A Brahmin surname meaning “scholar” or “teacher.”
Joshi – Meaning “astrologer” or “priest”; associated with Brahmins.
Deshpande – A surname indicating a chief accountant of a region (desh + pande).
Kulkarni – Meaning “village clerk”; traditionally an administrative title in Maharashtra.
Patil – Meaning “village head”; a common surname among landowners in Maharashtra.
Naik – Meaning “leader” or “chief”; used in various communities.
Gowda – A surname used by landowning communities in Karnataka.
Reddy – Historically referring to village headmen in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Nair – A warrior and noble community surname from Kerala.
Pillai – Meaning “child” or “nobleman”; commonly used in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Iyer – A Brahmin surname from Tamil Nadu, associated with Vedic scholars.
Iyengar – A Tamil Brahmin surname, specifically for followers of Sri Vaishnavism.
Shetty – Traditionally associated with the business and banking communities of Karnataka.
Menon – Historically used by administrative officers in Kerala.
Chakraborty – Meaning “emperor” or “ruler of the wheel”; a Bengali Brahmin surname.
Banerjee – A variation of Bandopadhyay, meaning “teacher from the Bandoghat region.”
Chatterjee – Derived from Chattopadhyay, meaning “teacher from Chattagram.”
Bhattacharya – Meaning “learned teacher”; commonly used by Bengali Brahmins.
Mukherjee – A form of Mukhopadhyay, meaning “teacher from Mukhopur.”
Ghosh – Derived from ghosha, meaning “pastoralist” or “cowherd.”
Dutta – Meaning “given” or “gifted”; historically used by Kayasthas and Brahmins.
Bose – Possibly derived from vyasa (sage); a common Bengali surname.
Sen – Meaning “army” or “warrior”; used by various Bengali and Bihari communities.
Sanyal – A Brahmin surname originating from a region in Bengal.
Roy – Derived from raja (king), historically used by zamindars and landowners.
Deb – Derived from deva (god); common among Bengali Hindus.
Rajput – Meaning “son of a king”; used by warrior clans in North India.
Modi – Meaning “grocer” or “businessman”; historically associated with the merchant community.
Mahajan – Meaning “great person” or “trader”; historically associated with business communities.
Bhandari – Meaning “treasurer” or “storekeeper”; common in Maharashtra and North India.
Dalal – Meaning “broker” or “middleman”; associated with trading and business communities.
Sodhi – A Sikh surname tracing lineage to the Sodhi clan of Guru Ram Das.
Bedi – Refers to the clan of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
Ahluwalia – A Sikh surname derived from a village named Ahlu.
Sekhon – A Jat Sikh surname, possibly referring to a warrior clan.
Grewal – A Punjabi surname from the Jat community, linked to a specific region.
Bains – A common Jat surname in Punjab, meaning “clan leader” or “warrior.”
Gill – A Jat surname meaning “prosperous” or “leader.”
Sidhu – A surname associated with Jat Sikhs, meaning “lion-hearted.”
Sandhu – Meaning “one from a sandy region”; a common surname among Punjabis.
Pannu – A Jat surname, likely referring to a specific lineage or village.
Dhillon – Meaning “one who is fearless”; common among Jat Sikhs.
Chandel – A Rajput surname, historically linked to the Chandela dynasty.
Sisodia – A Rajput surname from the Sisodia clan, rulers of Mewar.
Rathore – A Rajput clan name linked to the rulers of Marwar.
Solanki – Meaning “descendant of the Chalukya dynasty”; a Rajput surname.
Parmar – Meaning “warrior” or “protector”; a Rajput surname.
Tomar – A Rajput surname referring to a warrior lineage.
Jadeja – A Rajput surname, associated with rulers of Gujarat and Kutch.
Gohil – A Rajput surname linked to rulers of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Gaikwad – Meaning “protector of cows”; historically associated with the Marathas.
Deshmukh – Meaning “head of a district”; a title used by Maratha landowners.
Chavan – A surname used by Marathas, meaning “leader” or “chieftain.”
Jadhav – A surname linked to warrior clans in Maharashtra.
Pawar – A Rajput-Maratha surname meaning “protector” or “warrior.”
Dixit – A Brahmin surname meaning “one who has performed Vedic rituals.”
Giri – A surname used by Hindu ascetics, meaning “mountain.”
Purohit – Meaning “family priest”; commonly used by Brahmins.
Upadhyay – Meaning “teacher” or “priest”; a Brahmin surname.
Misra – A Brahmin surname meaning “priest” or “scholar.”
Bhatt – Meaning “scholar” or “poet”; used by Brahmins across India.
Hegde – A Brahmin surname from Karnataka, meaning “chief” or “leader.”
Kamath – A Konkani surname associated with the trading community.
Pai – A common Konkani surname, linked to merchants and administrators.
Shanbhag – A Kannada surname meaning “accountant” or “record keeper.”
Patwardhan – Meaning “one who maintains land records”; a Brahmin surname from Maharashtra.
Mudaliar – A Tamil surname meaning “first” or “chief”; used by various castes.
Chettiar – A Tamil surname associated with the merchant community.
Ramaswamy – A Tamil Brahmin surname meaning “lord Rama’s devotee.”
Gounder – A Tamil and Kannada surname used by landowning communities.
Rajagopalan – A Tamil Brahmin surname meaning “protector of the king.”
Venkatesan – A Tamil surname referring to Lord Venkateshwara.
Adhikari – A surname meaning “officer” or “administrator”; common in Nepal and Bengal.
Borah – A surname used by Assamese traders, meaning “merchant.”
Sarma – A Brahmin surname in Assam, derived from Sharma.
Gogoi – A surname of Assamese origin, historically used by military leaders.
Medhi – A common Assamese surname associated with scholars.
Barua – A surname used by Assamese and Bengali Buddhists, meaning “noble officer.”
