Titles & Lastnames

Types of Lastnames

1. Generic Hindu first name as last name

Instead of a surname that indicates lineage or acts as a hereditary marker, many Bhumihars use a generic Hindu first name as their last name. This practice mainly started in the late 1980s and continues today. It emerged as a protective measure against caste-based persecution during the period of rampant left-wing extremism (Naxalism/Maoism) in Bihar, when upper-caste men were often targeted after being identified by their Janeu and surnames.

For example, instead of using traditional Bhumihar surnames, names like Raj, Anand, Ranjan, Aditya, Shekhar, etc., which are actually first names, began to be used as last names. As a result, what should conventionally be First name + Last name often becomes First name + First name in the case of many Bhumihars.

2. Titles

Rai, Chaudhary, Thakur, Singh, Sinha, Shahi: These are hereditary titles signifying principal landowner or zamindar status in Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and many other parts of the Indian subcontinent. Some were voluntarily adopted, while others were bestowed upon Bhumihars by various Islamic rulers and, later, sometimes by the British in recognition of their services. These titles were also used by Rajputs of various clans and even by landowning Brahmins throughout North India, especially Maithil Brahmins, among whom the surnames Thakur and Chaudhary are particularly common.

Although these surnames are hereditary and passed down through generations, they do not indicate the bearer’s specific lineage or clan, nor are they exclusive to any particular caste. The surname “Singh,” for example, is first recorded in use by Rudrasimha I (178–197 CE), who was neither a Rajput nor a Sikh, the two groups most commonly associated with it today. Kurmis, Brahmins, Gurjars, Jats, South Indian Kshatriyas, Kayasthas, and Rajputs can all use the suffix “Singh,” despite belonging to entirely different clans. The bottom line is that these titles, though used as surnames and inherited by successive generations, do not reveal the bearer’s actual clan, mool, or lineage. They began as honorific adjectives and have been adopted by many castes across the length and breadth of India.

3. Actual Surnames

These Brahminical surnames are the original surnames of Bhumihars, most of which have now been abandoned. Only a few Bhumihar mools still retain these older surnames. These surnames are both hereditary and indicative of the bearer’s mool, gotra, and lineage. For example, a Bhumihar with the surname Shukla can only belong to the Basmait mool and the Garg gotra. While many Basmait Bhumihars have been using Thakur as their surname for centuries, only the Basmait Bhumihars of Vaishali district in Bihar have not yet abandoned their older Shukla surname.