Mehra
{{wiktionary|Mehra}}
{{Infobox surname
| name = Mehra
| image =
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| caption =
| pronunciation =
| meaning = Sun / Chief / Master
| motto =
| region = Punjab, India
| language = Punjabi, Dogri, Kumaoni, Hindi
| family =
| footnotes =
}}
Mehra is a Khatri Hindu surname found in India, predominantly in the Punjab, Delhi and Jammu Regions.{{cite web |title=Mehra Surname Origin, Meaning and Last Name History |url=https://forebears.io/surnames/mehra |website=Forebears }}{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=K.S. |title=Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles |date=1996 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfAMAQAAMAAJ}} They generally come under the Dhai Ghar group of the Khatri Caste. Mehra surname are mainly Khatri in origin but many clans from other states also uses this surname as well. This surname derives from the word Mihir, meaning sun or master. {{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2016 |editor1-last=Hanks |editor1-first=P. |editor2-last=Coates |editor2-first=R. |editor3-last=McClure |editor3-first=P}}
According to Aditya Malik, the Mehras of Uttarakhand are a community of Rajput landowners in the Kumaon Division of the Central Himalayas.{{cite book
|author1=Malik, Aditya|title=Tales of Justice and Rituals of Divine Embodiment: Oral Narratives from the Central Himalayas |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199325092 |page=39 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QDtADQAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |access-date=14 April 2019}}
Variations
Later modifications of this surname are Mehrotra and Malhotra a subclan. Malhotra is the Punjabi language, version of Mehrotra.{{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2016 |editor1-last=Hanks |editor1-first=P. |editor2-last=Coates |editor2-first=R. |editor3-last=McClure |editor3-first=P}}
Notable persons
Notable people with the surname, who may or may not be affiliated with Rajputs or Khatris, include:
- Ajay Mehra, Indian cricketer and sports commentator
- Amit Mehra, Indian model and actor
- Amod Mehra, Indian trade analyst and film journalist
- Ayush Mehra, Indian actor
- Benita Mehra, British engineer
- Bhanu Sri Mehra (born 1986), Indian film actress in Telugu, Tamil and Punjabi films
- Bharat Mehra, Indian American researcher
- Brij Bhushan Mehra (died 1991), Indian Punjabi politician
- Divya Mehra (born 1981), Canadian artist
- Gulshan Mehra (1937–1986), Indian cricketer
- Hiten Mehra (born 1997), Indian cricketer
- Jagdish Mehra (1931–2008), Indian-American physicist and science historian
- Jankidas Mehra (1910–2003), Indian Hindi actor
- Kailash Mehra Sadhu, Indian singer in Kashmiri languages
- Kapish Mehra, Indian publishing executive
- Karan Mehra (born 1982), Indian television actor, model and fashion designer
- Karan Veer Mehra, Indian television actor
- Madan Mehra (born 1934), Indian cricketer
- Mandeep R. Mehra (born 1964), Indian-American cardiologist
- Moti Ram Mehra (17th-18th century), Sikh disciple
- Narinder Kumar Mehra (born 1949), Indian immunologist
- Neelam Mehra, Indian actress
- Nitya Mehra, Indian Bollywood film director and screenwriter
- Om Prakash Mehra (1919–2015), Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 1973 to 1976
- Prakash Mehra (1939–2009), Indian film director and producer of Hindi films
- Puneet Mehra (born 1988), Indian cricketer
- Raj Mehra, character actor in Bollywood films
- Raj Kumar Mehra (1918–2001), Indian cyclist
- Rajan Mehra (1933–2010), Indian cricket umpire
- Rajnish Mehra (born 1950), Indian-American economist
- Ramprakash Mehra (1917–1983), Indian cricketer and cricket administrator
- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Indian filmmaker and screenwriter
- Rebecca Mehra (born 1994), American middle-distance runner
- Ribbhu Mehra, Indian television actor, model and DJ
- Rohan Mehra (born 1990), Indian actor and model
- Rohan Mehra (born 1991), Indian Hindi film actor
- Rohit Mehra, Indian cricketer
- Rooma Mehra (born 1967), Indian poet, painter, sculptor, newspaper writer and columnist
- Shiela Mehra, Indian gynaecologist and obstetrician
- Shiv Mehra, guitarist in the American black metal band Deafheaven
- Smriti Mehra (born 1972), Indian golfer
- Soniya Mehra (born 1988), Indian Bollywood actress
- Surinder Mehra (1932–2003), Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force from 1988 to 1991
- Umesh Mehra, Indian director and producer of Bollywood films
- Usha Mehra, Indian judge
- Vijay Mehra (Emirati cricketer)
- Vijay Mehra (Indian cricketer)
- Vinod Mehra (1945–1990), Indian actor in Bollywood films
- Moti Ram Mehra (1700–1707), Disciple & Servant of Guru Gobind Singh