200 Most Common Indian Last Names With Meanings

India writes in many languages and speaks in many more voices. Hindi and English are the official languages of India since the constitution was adopted in 1950.

Hindi has close to 600 million speakers across the globe. I have hand-picked 66 of the most common Indian last names with meanings also included.

List Of The Most Common Indian Last Names And Their Meanings:

Venkatesh

Venkatesh comes from Venkateswara that is a form of Vishnu or ”one who is everything and inside everything.” Venkatesh means Lord of Venkata.

Ganguly

”Teacher,” and Sourav Ganguly captained India at cricket.

Azmi

”From Azamgarh,” a moniker for poet Kaifi Azmi.

Vora

”Trader.”

Ahluwalia

From Ahlu, a village near Lahore.

Pirzada

”Son of a saint.”

Bhardwaj

Skylark, and a Rigveda sage.

Khan

”Ruler” or ”king.”

Contractor

”Contractor,” a Parsi trade occupation from colonial Bombay.

Sharma

”Happiness” or ”joy” and is linked with the Sanskrit śarman.

Mehta

It comes from the Sanskrit Mahattara, ”chief” or ”great.” Many people with Mehta are found in the Western and Northern regions of India.

Mathur

From Mathura, Krishna’s birthplace.

Phadnis

From Persian fard-navis, record writer, and Nana Phadnavis ran Peshwa affairs.

Saikia

”Chief of one hundred.”

Kutty

”Little one.”

Zaidi

From Zayd ibn Ali, ”increase.”

Gandhi

”Perfume seller,” and Mahatma Gandhi’s family name.

Verma

”Coat of mail” or ”protection.”

Kulkarni

Kulkarni is made of kula (family) and karani (clerk).

Sarkar

”Chief” or ”overseer.”

Thevar

Godlike.

Goswami

”Master of cows,” or ”master of senses.”

Nehru

From nahar, canal, for a family home beside a Delhi canal.

Chakraborty

From chakravarti, an emperor whose chariot wheels roll everywhere.

Qazi

”Judge.”

Bakshi

From Persian bakhshi, paymaster of Mughal armies.

Hazarika

”Chief of one thousand,” and singer Bhupen Hazarika won a Bharat Ratna.

Soni

”Goldsmith.”

Ansari

”Helpers,” after Medina’s first followers of the Prophet.

Dwivedi

”Knower of two Vedas.”

Fernandes

”Son of Fernando,” a Portuguese one for a journey.

Gowda

It was initially a honorific titles for the head of a village. In 1996 and 1997 H.D. Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister of India.

Kashyap

”Tortoise,” and in legend Kashmir got it from sage Kashyapa.

Gore

”Fair” or ”white.”

Pradhan

Chief.

Chishti

From Chisht, an Afghan town that named a Sufi order.

Thampi

”Younger brother.”

Shetty

Shetty comes from shreshthi, ”guild head” or ”chief merchant” via Old Kannada Setti. It is most common among the Bunts of coastal Karnataka.

Iyer

Iyer comes from the Tamil root ayya, ”teacher” or “father”.

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Patel

”Chief” or ”landowner.”

Desai

It is from the Sanskrit deśa (”country”) and svāmī (lord). Actress Prachi Desai is the recipient of four Indian Telly Awards.

Singh

Singh has its origins in the Sanskrit ”simha”, ”lion.” Singa and Singham are all variations of Singh.

Bedi

From vedi, Veda scholar, and Guru Nanak was a Bedi.

Shekhawat

”Sons of Shekha,” for Rao Shekha of Shekhawati.

Chaurasia

”Eighty-four,” as well as a flute master Hariprasad Chaurasia made it famous.

Jafri

From Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, ”stream.”

Kaushik

”Descendant of Kushika.”

Prasad

It is ”food” or ”grace” offered to a deity. In 1950 Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India.

Sen

”Troop” or ”army.”

Ghosh

From the word ghosha, Ghosh, ”sound” or ”noise.” Ghose is another variant of Ghosh.

Bhatnagar

From Bhatner, a fort town now called Hanumangarh.

Gautam

”Brightest light” or ”remover of darkness.”

Kurian

Of the Lord.

Patnaik

It combines pattana (town) and nayaka (chief).

Pathan

”Pashtun.”

Doshi

Doshi is a Gujarati word for cloth merchant.

Kumar

Kumar is of Sanskrit origin and signifies boy or son. Kumar is in the top 20 as the most common family name in the world.

Irani

”From Iran,” and Irani cafes of Mumbai serve bun maska.

Mahajan

”Great man,” or a moneylender.

Chitnis

Secretary.

Kapoor

Kapoor has roots in the word karpūra that is referring to the “Camphor tree.”

Vajpayee

From Vajapeya, a soma rite, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee served three terms as Prime Minister.

Dastur

”High priest.”

Sisodia

From Sisoda village, clan of Maharana Pratap.

Shukla

”White” or ”bright.”

Gupta

”Protector” or ”guardian.” Gupta was the founder of the Gupta dynasty in Eastern India.

Rath

Chariot.

Batliwala

Batliwala means ”bottle seller,” a Parsi trade that I love.

Sundaram

Beautiful.

Mudaliar

”First citizen.”

Parmar

”Slayer of enemies,” and King Bhoja of Malwa was a Paramara.

Banerjee

A teacher from the village of Bandoghat.

Joshi

Joshi has roots in jyotishi / jyotisha, ”astrologer,” a Brahmin who read the stars.

Mishra

Mishra has its origins in ”miśra”, ”combined” or ”mixed.”

Farooqui

”He who tells right from wrong,” a title of caliph Umar.

Gavaskar

From Gavas village.

Chidambaram

”Sky of wisdom.”

Qureshi

From Quraysh, tribe of the Prophet.

Parekh

”Tester,” or an assayer of coins.

D’Costa

”Of the coast.”

Adhikari

”Officer” or ”one with authority.”

Bukhari

From Bukhara, and Imam Bukhari compiled a major hadith book.

Darji

Tailor.

Sandhu

Sandhu is from ”sindhu” which appears in the Rigveda (a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns). It alluded to the Indus River.

Modi

”Grocer.”

Mangeshkar

From Mangeshi, a village in Goa with a Mangesh temple.

Bhandari

Treasurer.

Subramaniam

”Clarity in full” or ”pure.”

Rathore

Rathore is a Rajput clan of Marwar with roots to the Rashtrakuta dynasty. In 1459 Rao Jodha of this line founded Jodhpur.

Chaudhary

Chaudhary was initially a title for a landholder and with Sanskrit roots for four (chatur) and dhari (”head”). It is spelled Chowdhury in Bengal and Choudhary in north.

Vashisht

”Most excellent,” and Vasishtha was a guru to Rama.

Mitra

”Friend.”

Maurya

From mora, peacock, and Ashoka ruled as a Maurya emperor.

Malik

King.

Lokhande

From Marathi lokhand, iron.

Prabhu

”Lord,” ”master,” ”king” or ”mighty.”

Saxena

”Friend of the army.” It is part of the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community.

Daruwala

”Liquor seller.”

Kazmi

Kazmi (”one who restrains anger”) comes from Imam Musa al-Kazim.

Lal

”Beloved,” ”darling,” ”red” or ”ruby.”

Arora

From Aror, an old city in Sindh.

Shenoy

From senavi, a village scribe.

Trivedi

“One who knows three Vedas” and is made of from tri (three) and vedi (versed in the Veda).

Nigam

”Veda” or ”sacred text.”

Arumugam

”Six faces,” for god Murugan.

Varghese

It has origins in George, ”farmer.”

Talukdar

Possessor of a taluk, an estate.

Syed

”Lord.”

Yadav

”Belonging to the Yadu clan.” Yadavs are a group of peasant-pastoral castes.

Srivastava

It originates in Sri (God) and vas (to dwell). Srivastava is common among the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community.

Nair

Nair has a meaning that I love, ”leader of the people.”

Krishnan

Krishnan is derived from Krishna, one of the most worshipped Gods. Lord Krishna has a total of 108 names. It means dark blue or black.

Reddy

Reddy is translated as ”governor” and is connected to the Sanskrit word “ratta.” It is also spelled Reddi.

Rao

”King.”

Bhattacharya

Bhattacharya is made of bhatta, a Vedic priest, and acharya, a teacher. It is a title to Brahmins who led sacred rituals, and variants include Bhattacharjee and Bhattacharyya.

Chauhan

It is from Chahamana that is one of the fire-born (Agnivanshi) Rajput clans of Rajasthan. Prithviraj Chauhan was the ruler of Ajmer and Delhi.

Pillai

Pillai has its roots in South India and means young one.

Naidu

Chief or leader.

Menon

”Exalted one.” It is also an aristocratic hereditary title.

Chopra

Chopra is symbolizing ”to chop” or ”to cut.” American author Deepak Chopra was born in New Delhi, and he is the author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

Bose

Bose is translated as the “bright ones” and has roots in the Sanskrit Vasu. The Vasus are a group of Vedic deities that described as the attendant deities of Indra and Lord Vishnu.

Bajaj

”Clothier.”

Pai

Pai is from pati (”lord” or ”master”) and is part of the Konkani-speaking Goud Saraswat Brahmins.

Panicker

Panicker (”martial arts teacher”) is a title for Kalari masters of Kerala.

Murthy

”Image.”

Bhargava

”Descendant of Bhrigu,” a sage of Vedic hymns.

Kamath

”One who works the soil”. Kamath is spelled Kamat in Goa and Kammath in Kerala.

Kohli

Kohli is a Punjabi Khatri clan name.

Das

Das has the meaning of servant or devotee and originates from Dasa. Some scholars (who studied the Rig Veda) have also translated Dasa as harmful supernatural forces and demons.

Ahmed

”Most praised”.

Patil

Patil was a title for a village chief.

Kansara

From kansa, bronze.

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Khanna

Khanna is a Punjabi Hindu name that is pronounced KAH-nuh and has the meanings of ”ruler” or ”leader.”

Roy

It is from Rai (king). It is also a title of royalty.

Agarwal

Agarwal comes from Agrawal, “people of Agroha.”

Pereira

”Pear tree.”

Majumdar

From Persian majmuadar, a record clerk.

Puri

City.

Hashmi

Hashmi comes from Hashim (”crusher of bread”), who fed pilgrims in Mecca.

Bhatia

Bhatia is from the word “Bhat”, ”warrior.”

Chatterjee

Chatterjee is the short form of Chattopadhyay, a Bengali Brahmin name from the village of Chatta combined with upadhyaya, a teacher. As such it means ”teacher from Chatta.”

Natarajan

”King of dance,” a name for Shiva.

Bisht

From vishishta, distinguished.

Tendulkar

From Tendul village, and Sachin Tendulkar scored one hundred international centuries.

Bhowmick

”Lord of land.”

Poojary

Temple priest.

Mukherjee

Mukherjee is the anglicized form of Mukhopadhyay, which is also a teacher-title linked to a village name. It is found in the Kulin Brahmins in Banerjee and Chatterjee. Pranab Mukherjee served as President of India from 2012 to 2017.

Rizvi

From Imam Ali al-Rida, whose title means ”contentment.”

Pal

”Protector,” and Pala kings ruled Bengal for about four hundred years.

Gaikwad

”Cow guardian.”

Malhotra

Malhotra is part of the Dhai Ghar sub-group of Khatris and means ”master.”

Sawant

From samanta, a feudal chief.

Engineer

A Parsi surname that means just what it spells.

Guha

”Cave,” ”secret,” ”heart” or ”hidden one.”

Vyas

”Compiler,” and a sage who wrote the Mahabharata.

Mondal

Village headman.

Dixit

From dikshita, ”the initiated.”

Grewal

Grewal is used in Pakistan and India.

Nayak

Nayak is the word for a leader or commander and comes from Sanskrit nayaka. It is the same root for Naidu and Naik.

Rajput

Rajput comes from ”rājaputra” (son of a king).

Chaturvedi

“Expert of the four Vedas.”

Jain

It has origins from the followers of Jainism, from jaina, one who follows a Jina. Jina is the title for the Tirthankaras who gain conquer over anger and greed.

Kale

”Dark.”

Shastri

”Scripture scholar,” and Lal Bahadur Shastri got it as a college degree.

Pinto

”Chick”.

Bhatt

Bhatt is from bhatta and is symbolizing ”learned man” or ”priest.”

Shah

Shah comes from sah, a merchant, that is from Sanskrit sadhu (”honest” or ”good”). The Persian shah (”king”) is a separate word.

Agnihotri

”Fire priest,” or one who tends a sacred fire.

Mirza

It comes from Persian amirzada, ”son of a prince.”

Kulshreshtha

Best of the clan.

Mistry

From Portuguese mestre, master craftsman.

Pandey

Pandey comes from pandit, a learned man. You find it in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and variations include Pande and Pandya.

Dutta

Dutta has roots in datta (”gift” or ”granted”).

Thakur

”Lord” or ”chief”, and comes from thakkura. It is used by Rajputs and Brahmins.

Tripathi

It combines tri (three) and patha (path), ”three paths”.

Bora

Bora (”officer”) was an Ahom rank in command of twenty men.

Kothari

From kothar, a granary.

Deshmukh

Deshmukh combines desh (”district”) and mukh (”the chief”).

Hegde

Hegde comes from an Old Kannada word for chief.

Sethi

”Merchant” or ”head of a trade.” It is popular in the Khatri and Arora families of Punjab.

Biswas

”Trust.”

Lobo

Wolf, in Portuguese.

Nadar

”Ruler of the land.”

Bhalla

Bhalla is also from Khatri communities of Punjab and means ”auspicious”.

Chandran

”Moon,” and is from Chandra.

Nanda

Nanda (”joy” or ”delight”) and is also a cowherd chief who raised Krishna.

Naqvi

Pure.

Inamdar

It combines inam (land grant) and dar (possessor).

Deshpande

”District accountant.”

Chacko

It is a Malayalam form of Jacob, ”supplanter.”

Annamalai

”Unreachable mountain,” and a holy hill at Tiruvannamalai.

Siddiqui

Siddiqui (”truthful”) comes from Abu Bakr, called al-Siddiq.

Jha

Jha comes from upadhyaya, teacher.

Hussain

”Handsome” or ”good”.

Bharucha

From Bharuch, a port town in Gujarat.

Talwar

Sword.

D’Souza

It has origins in Portuguese de Sousa, ”from the Sousa River.”

Garg

”Descendant of Garga,” an astronomer sage of ancient India.

Kaul

From kula, family.

Sheikh

”Elder.”