Surnames usually originate from the local language. Typically they derive from either a profession or the family's place of origin. Some surnames indicate the caste. MostSikhmen have a surname ofSingh(meaning "lion"), while most women have a surname ofKaur(meaning "princess"). This was insti...
To conform to the English-language naming convention, the following formats have been used: Many Indians in the south use caste titles (Iyer, Aiyengar, Rao, and so on) as their surnames. Some others use the father's given name (or the husband's given name, in the case of married ...