Indian family name

Indian family names are derived from several sources:

• Caste or subcaste name: These are analogous to western family names like Smith and Barber to the extent that they represent occupation. Example: Reddy (Hindu Telugu caste). However, Indians usually marry within the caste, and often within the subcaste.

• Exogamous division within caste: These are usually on the basis of deity worshipped. Example: Tamma (within Reddy caste). This is widely followed by the Telugu people.

• Religion: A number of Sikhs are named Singh, and most Jains are called Jain. However, there are Hindus with these two surnames as well.

• Placename: Many South Indians, especially Tamils, use the name of their place of origin as the family name. In this case the surname is placed before the given name. Some have both a village name and a caste name as part of their name, for instance Madurai Mani Iyer. Here, Madurai is a town and Iyer is a caste.

• Learning and Academics: Some Hindu families have names that reflect the academic achievements of their forefathers. e.g., Sastri - one who has studied the Sastras, Dwivedi - one who has studied two vedas, Trivedi - three vedas, Chaturvedi - four vedas, Pathak, etc.

Many Indians have no family names. This too is common in southern India, particularly among Tamils. The pressure of conformity (especially strong for overseas Indians) often forces them to acquire surnames, either by inventing one, or splitting their given name, or adopting their patronyms as family names.

Indian naming system

Usually in many Indian families, birth name and school record name (the name known to outside of the family, especially classmates and schoolmates) will differ. Sometimes the birth name will be used only inside the family. In modern families, a child is named only one name -- both as birth name and school record name.

Some children are named with 3 names: first name, middle name and last name. First name is usually unique; middle name is also sometimes unique; the last name is usually the family name or grand father/mother's (depending upon the sex of the child) first name or a God's name.

Some children are named with 2 names: first name and last name. First name is often unique and last name is usually the family name. In modern and urban families, the child is usually named with only one name which is usually unique. Naming with 4 names are usually uncommon.

In West Bengal, especially amongst Hindus, it is common to have a first and last name as well as a Daak naam, or nick name, which is not listed in official documents.

Initial system

Adding initial before the name is somewhat a social must. e.g., P. Chidambaram. In most of the schools when a child joins, they will automatically add the initials. Intial is taken from the first letter of the first name of father's name. For example, in the name P. Chidambaram, P is taken from his father's first name Palaniyappan. In certain societies, person without initial (bastard) is looked down upon. Initial is also must to mention in government records. Missing initial in certificates, bank transactions is sometimes considered illegal and may cause inconvenience to clear the issue.

Men

Men's names are usually prefixed with initials as mentioned before. But, however few men used to omit the initial but will add the father's name in the end. This won't be however a legal name and men won't change their naming system in official records such as government, schools, etc. For example, both P. Chidambaram and Chidambaram Palaniyappan are valid; however the latter form is not legally used. Omiting initial and suffixing father's first name is usually used to shorten the long names:

Father name: M. Gopal Krishnan

Name: G. Raja Ravi Varma

Shortened name: Raja Gopal (See, Ravi Varma is ommitted)

Foreigner's misunderstandings

Foreigners, especially American magazines tended to expand Indian initials in an incorrect manner. For example, the name P. Chidambaram, tended to be expanded to Palaniyappan Chidambaram, which is incorrect, in the sense that it implies that the person's first name is "Palaniyappan," and the last name or the family name, "Chidambaram." As shown above, this is wrong, since the person's only name is "Chidambaram," with an initial of "P."

Women

For women, the system of initials is slightly different. Before marriage, a girl uses her father's initial, but after marriage, uses husband's initial. For example:

Father name: M. Gopal Krishnan

Husband name: K. Manohar Murthy

Name: Sudha Kalyani

Before marriage: G. Sudha Kalyani or Sudha Gopal (in shortened form)

After marriage: M. Sudha Kalyani or Sudha Manohar (in shortend form)

*Names in italics refer common usage system among women.

See also:

• List of Indian family names