Indian Surname DNA & Ancestry

Discover the history, origins, and genetic ancestry behind your family name. Explore DNA patterns unique to Indian surnames.

What Your Surname Reveals About Your Ancestry

Indian surnames carry centuries of history within them. Unlike Western naming conventions, Indian family names often encode information about occupation (Patel, Kulkarni), social group (Sharma, Iyer), geographic origin (Marwari, Bengali), or even ancestral achievements. Understanding your surname's origin is the first step in uncovering your family history.

However, surnames alone don't tell the complete story. DNA testing reveals the deeper genetic ancestry that surnames cannot—your paternal haplogroup (Y-DNA), maternal haplogroup (mtDNA), and autosomal ancestry composition. Many families with the same surname can have different genetic origins, while families with different surnames may share common ancestors.

Occupational Surnames

Patel (village head), Kulkarni (accountant), Chetty (merchant), Dhobi (washerman)

Geographic Surnames

Marwari, Bengali, Jaunpuri, Hyderabadi, Multani

Clan/Gotra Surnames

Kashyap, Bharadwaj, Vashishtha, Gautam, Agnihotri

North Indian Surnames

Sharma
Sanskrit: "Joy, Shelter"
Pan-India
Singh
Sanskrit: "Lion"
Punjab, UP, Bihar
Gupta
Sanskrit: "Protected"
UP, Bihar, Bengal
Verma
Sanskrit: "Armour"
North India
Mishra
Sanskrit: "Mixed, Honorable"
UP, Bihar, MP
Joshi
Sanskrit: "Astrologer"
Maharashtra, Gujarat
Tiwari
Sanskrit: "Three Vedas"
UP, MP
Yadav
Descendant of Yadu
UP, Haryana, Bihar

South Indian Surnames

Reddy
Telugu: "Village Head"
Andhra, Telangana
Nair
Malayalam: "Leader"
Kerala
Menon
Malayalam: "Exalted One"
Kerala
Iyer
Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Nadu
Iyengar
Tamil: Vaishnavite Brahmin
Tamil Nadu
Naidu
Telugu: "Leader, Chief"
Andhra Pradesh
Pillai
Tamil: "Child, Noble"
Tamil Nadu, Kerala
Chetty
Tamil: "Merchant"
Tamil Nadu

West Indian Surnames

Patel
Gujarati: "Village Head"
Gujarat
Deshmukh
Marathi: "District Chief"
Maharashtra
Patil
Marathi: "Village Head"
Maharashtra
Kulkarni
Marathi: "Village Accountant"
Maharashtra
Shah
Persian: "King, Merchant"
Gujarat, Maharashtra
Mehta
Sanskrit: "Chief, Teacher"
Gujarat, Rajasthan
Jain
Sanskrit: "Follower of Jina"
Gujarat, Rajasthan
Desai
Marathi: "Of the Land"
Gujarat, Maharashtra

Muslim Indian Surnames

Khan
Turkic: "Leader, Ruler"
Pan-India
Syed/Sayyid
Arabic: "Master, Lord"
Pan-India
Sheikh
Arabic: "Elder, Chief"
Pan-India
Ansari
Arabic: "Helper"
UP, Bihar
Qureshi
Arabic: "Of Quraysh Tribe"
Pan-India
Mirza
Persian: "Prince"
Hyderabad, Lucknow
Pathan
Pashtun Ancestry
UP, MP, Hyderabad
Malik
Arabic: "King, Owner"
Punjab, UP

East Indian Surnames

Das
Sanskrit: "Servant, Devotee"
Bengal, Odisha
Banerjee
Bengali Brahmin
Bengal
Mukherjee
Bengali: "Chief Teacher"
Bengal
Chatterjee
Bengali Brahmin
Bengal
Bose
Bengali: Kayastha
Bengal
Ghosh
Sanskrit: "Cowherd"
Bengal
Roy
Sanskrit: "King"
Bengal
Sen
Sanskrit: "Army"
Bengal

Discover Your Surname's DNA Story

Go beyond history books. Our DNA test reveals the genetic patterns unique to your surname, including haplogroups, migration paths, and community connections.

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