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Desai

{{Short description|Indian title}}

Desai ({{IPA|hns|d̪eːsaːi|pron}}) is an Indian administrative, princely or honorary title and surname.[https://archive.today/20120710074800/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=hobson&query=Desai&matchtype=exact&display=utf8 Also, "Mahr. deśāī; in W. and S. India a native official in charge of a district, often held hereditarily; a petty chief." Henry Yule, Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, pp. 292, 306.]{{cite web|url=https://www.thebizdom.in/how-well-do-you-know-about-the-origins-of-some-indian-occupational-surnames/|title=How well do you know about the origins of some Indian Occupational Surnames?|date=22 February 2020|access-date=23 February 2022|publisher=TheBizdom}}

Etymology

The word is derived from the Sanskrit deśa (country) and svāmī (lord).{{Cite web |title=Desai Name Meaning & Desai Family History at Ancestry.com® |url=https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=desai |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.ancestry.com}}

Desai as a title

Desai was a title given to feudal lords, and others who were granted a village or group of villages in Maharashtra, and North Karnataka. The title Desai should not be associated with a particular religion or caste, though a Desai would use the title of Rao or Rai or Raje as a suffix to his name denoting he is a king of those villages, The "Desai" title was given by Maratha emperors, Mughal emperors and by the Deccan sultanates.{{cite book |author=Raj Kumar |year=2003 |title=Essays on Modern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5L_2-w13fMMC |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |page=73|isbn=9788171416905 }}

  • In Maharashtra, the title Desai is conferred to feudal lords and village council members. Most of them are either Gaud Saraswat Brahmins,{{cite book |title=Saraswats in Goa and Beyond |year=1998 |publisher=Murgaon Mutt Sankul Samiti |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0NuAAAAMAAJ&q=desai+saraswat+brahmins+kudal}} Deshastha Brahmins,{{cite book|author=Syed Siraj ul Hassan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYSd-3yL9h0C&pg=PA111|title=The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1989|page=111|isbn = 9788120604889}} Karhade Brahmins, Prabhus (CKP- Davane Prabhus and Pathare Prabhus), Lingayats, Patidars and Marathas.{{cite book|title=The Chitpavans: Social Ascendancy of a Creative Minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ez4wAQAAIAAJ|page=28|author=Sandhya Gokhale|publisher=Shubhi Publications|year=2008|isbn = 9788182901322|quote=Hereditary rights of Karhades were those of Desai, district officer, or Deshmukh, and Sardesai, senior district officer.}}{{cite book|author=V. D. Divekar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZNuAAAAMAAJ|title=South India in 1857 War of Independence|publisher=Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust|year=1993|page=148}}
  • Desais were the rulers of Kudal (Sindhudurg) in Maharashtra.{{cite web |title=SAWANTS OF WADI Coastal Politics in 18th and 19th Centuries | year=1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUZSHKhKJ4gC&dq=kudal+rulers+desai&pg=PA3 |publisher=S. K. Mhamai}}{{cite web |title=Anthropological Society of Bombay | year=1909 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uACbgzsHn3gC&q=kudal+desai |publisher=Anthropological Society of Bombay}}{{cite web |title=Numismatic Digest | year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=01JmAAAAMAAJ&q=kudal+rulers+desai |publisher=Numismatic Digest}}
  • Desai, or a loftier compound, was a rare title for rulers of a few princely states, notably - Raja Sar Desai in the Maratha Savantvadi State from 1627 until the adoption of "Raja Bahadur" in 1763.
  • In Gujarat, Desai is honoured to Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahimins, Vaishnav Vanik and Rabari and Patidars caste people. The title was also given to feudal lords and revenue collectors{{cite book|title=Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhRGDAAAQBAJ&q=desai+anavil+brahmin&pg=PT237|publisher=Random House|access-date=1 June 2017|author=Laura Spinney|date = June 2017|isbn = 9781473523920}}

Desai as a surname

Desai as a surname is used by Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, Deshastha Brahmin,{{cite book|title=People of India: Maharashtra, Part 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmBjoAFMfjoC|page=478|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=2004|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|isbn = 9788179911006}} Karhade Brahmin,{{cite book|title=The Scheduled Castes, Volume 21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORBOAQAAMAAJ|page=111|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1995|isbn = 9780195637427|quote=The Karhade Brahman have their own clan deities like Khalnath, Jogeshwari, Bhavani. They celebrate various festivals like Diwali, Holi, Gudipadva, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc. They have surnames like Desai, Dhupkar, Prabhudesai, Bakhle...}} Marathas, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu, Pathare Prabhu, Panchkalshi, Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahmin, {{cite book|title=Indian immigrants in Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82JnAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=13 June 2008|page=11|author=Rashmi H. Desai|year = 1963}} Rabari,{{cite book|title=Lush Fields and Parched Throats: The Political Economy of Groundwater in Gujarat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Yal3lskjj4C|page=33|author=Bela Bhatia|publisher=UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER)|year=1992|quote=Individuals with the Desai surname ( used both by some Patels as well ) have been included in this group for want of information on their precise caste affiliation.}} Leva Patel,{{cite book|title=Lush Fields and Parched Throats: The Political Economy of Groundwater in Gujarat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Yal3lskjj4C|page=33|author=Bela Bhatia|publisher=UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER)|year=1992|quote=Individuals with the Desai surname ( used both by some Patels) have been included in this group for want of information on their precise caste affiliation.}} Patidar,{{cite book|title=Racial Bargaining in Independent Kenya: A Study of Minorities and Decolonization|page=45|author=Donald S. Rothchild|publisher=Institute of Race Relations London|year=1973|quote=The Patidars, distinguished by such caste surnames as Patel, Amin, and Desai, were originally landholders in Gujarat.}} and Lingayat communities of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.{{cite book|title=Studies in Indian place names, Volume 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEVuAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Geetha Book House|year=1984|page=125|quote=These surnames are reminiscent of the Maratha rule over Karnataka. Thus we have surnames like Desai, Deshmukh, Deshpande, Inamdar, Jagirdar, Kulkarni, Patil, etc. These families held different posts under the Maratha administration.}}

Individual people

Notable individuals with the surname Desai include:

; Public officers

;Arts, sciences and business

; Culture & Sports

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

Category:Indian feudalism

Category:Surnames of Indian origin

Category:Surnames of Hindu origin

Category:Gujarati-language surnames