Hindi surnames are names which are held by individuals in the Hindi-speaking part of the world. This is not entirely synonymous with India, as while Hindi is the official language of the state, India is a sub-continent where languages such as Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Punjabi, among numerous others, predominate in various parts of the country. As such, Hindi surnames largely predominate in the ‘Hindi-belt’ region of India in the north and central regions of the country, as well as in the Indian Diaspora in Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA. Because India has one of the oldest cultures in the world, Hindi surnames are derived from a wide range of influences owing to regional considerations and places of origin, professions, religion and the Hindu caste-system.
The history of Hindi surnames is very complex and dates back thousands of years. For instance, in the Vedic period of Indian history, which occurred from the end of the Indus Valley civilization around 1400 BCE through to 600 BCE, we first find patronymic surnames in Hindu texts in so far as they refer to someone being ‘the son of’ another individual. Such is the case with the Rig Veda, an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns where individuals are named as descendants of an ancestor. As such the first surnames in India were Sanskrit patronymics. Although Hindi is a different language today, it is a descendant language of Sanskrit and so in tracing the evolution of modern Hindi surnames one needs to bear in mind the legacy of Sanskrit in India.[1]
In the centuries that followed Hindi surnames evolved to reflect either a person’s occupation, the name of an important descendant who was viewed as the founder of the family line, or the region from which an individual came. For instance, Hindi surnames which end with an ‘i’ or ‘wal’ are often surnames which indicate the region from which an individual comes. Others such as names which end in the suffix ‘kar’ developed as a method of saying that a person was a ruler or lord of a particular region. Similarly, the ‘nayak’ surname developed as one which was applied to military leaders or generals, as an approximation of ‘hero’. Other surnames such as Singh, which means ‘lion’, as derived from Sanskrit, effectively were adopted as descriptors of a person first and then transmitted from generation to generation.[2]
Map showing the dominant primary language by region within India today. Hindi is dominant along the ‘Hindi-belt’ in the north and central regions
Many of these Hindi surnames developed as part of the Hindu caste system. This is a social hierarchy which developed in India in ancient times to divide people in a quasi-religious method according to where they stood in society and what professions they might follow. The four main branches of the caste system are the Brahmins at the top, consisting of religious teachers and priests, the Kshatriyas below them comprising rulers, the nobility and warriors, the Vaishyas, who are farmers, traders and merchants, what western society would call the middle classes, and then the Shudras or labourers at the bottom. Below these again are the Dalits or ‘out-castes’, meaning menial workers and those outside of the caste system.[3]
This rigid system of social stratification is largely anathema to modern western ideas of social mobility and equality, but remains in place across India today. Many people’s surnames reflect their position within the caste system. For instance, surnames like Sharma and Pathak are Brahmin surnames, while surnames like Athaghara, Kandhaway and Lohani are general Vaishya surnames within Hindu tradition. Consequently Hindi surname practices are formed out of a wide range of different aspects of Hindu history, from where a person originates from, their family’s traditional occupation and their respective places within the caste system.[4]
Devi – This effectively means ‘goddess’ in Hindi. It is in widespread usage across much of India today, with as many as seventy million Devi surnames in India.[5]
Singh – This means ‘lion’ from a Sanskrit word and is widely used in India today, with over thirty million people bearing this name there.[6]
Kumar – This can be used as both a first name and a surname in Hindi-speaking communities. It is a patronymic surname meaning ‘son of’ or ‘young boy’. Tens of millions of people carry this surname in India today.
Sharma – This is a Brahmin surname, again derived ultimately from Sanskrit, which means ‘joyfulness’, ‘warmth’ or ‘happiness’. At least five million people have this surname in India today.[7]
Geographical spread of Hindi surnames
The geographical spread of Hindi surnames reflects the lingual landscape of India. Because of the dominance of other languages, such as Bengali, Gujarati and various dialects which arrived with the Muslims who conquered much of north-western India in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Hindi is largely confined to the north and central regions of India, though there has been considerable spread over the centuries, particularly so in the last 200 years as India has emerged as a giant nation state. As a result, one will find Hindi surnames all over India, along with neighboring countries like Nepal. But the greatest concentration of these is found in northern and central India, the ‘Hindi belt’. There are regional variations as well within these areas. For instance, surnames which indicate a place of origin and end in ‘i’ or ‘wal’ are more common in northern India and are found plentifully in New Delhi and the surrounding regions of the ‘Hindi belt’. One is more likely to find Hindi surnames ending with the suffix ‘kar’ or ‘ani’ further to the west towards Gujarati. All of this is further complicated by the fact that many people across India today are dropping their birth surnames as a means of reducing the influence, biases and inequalities of the caste system.[8]
Famous people with Hindi surnames
Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movementMahatma Gandhi – The foremost leader of the Indian independence movement. His actual name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Mahatma was a given name which he acquired during his time in South Africa meaning ‘great soul’. His Hindi surname Gandhi comes from the word for ‘perfume’ and may indicate that an ancestor sold incense or other scented products or was a grocer more generally.[9]
Rani Lakshmibai – The Maharani consort of state of Jhansi in the mid-nineteenth century, she was one of the leading figures in the Great Mutiny against British rule in 1857. Lakshmibai is a religiously derived Hindi surname which means ‘Goddess Sita’, the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu in the Hindu pantheon.[10]
Maithili Sharan Gupt – One of modern India’s most important poets. The Gupt or Gupta surname is derived from the Sanskrit word for ‘protector’ or ‘guardian’.[11]
