Punjabis are well known for their bravery and hospitality. This also reflects in their surnames. The Punjabi surnames reflect their background, which could be ancestral, occupational or topographical. Three communities in Punjab comprise the Jats (the landlords), the Aroras (the merchants), and the Khatris (Consisting of warriors and merchants). Most of the common surnames belong to these communities only. Many are even named after villages, so few surnames belong to the clan of these communities as well. We list the most common Punjabi surnames or last names with meanings.
Punjabi surnames have diverse communities from the region of Punjab, Sindh, Haryana, and Rajasthan, and a few parts of Pakistan as well. Since the people of Punjab are widespread in different parts of the world, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc., they carry the same surnames even though nationalities differ and even the language and dialect are pretty similar. Most of the surnames are subgroups of the bigger communities of Punjab.
Punjabi Last Name With Meanings
Punjabi surnames are easy to understand since most of them belong to one community or the other. Khatri community and Arora community are more common in urban areas while the surnames from the Jatts are not that common. Due to digitisation though, now the surnames even from the Jatts community is gaining importance, especially in the Sports sector as we see many emerging from Haryana state as very good sportsmen, wrestlers and boxers to name a few.
[Read: Popular Indian Brahmin Surnames or Last Names]
Top 100 Punjabi Last Names With Meanings
A list of the 100 Punjabi surnames from all the communities is listed below:
| SL No | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agre | A clan from Haryana |
| 2 | Ahlawat | Jats of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi |
| 3 | Ahluiwalia | Ones belonging to the village called Ahlu, situated near Lahore, with the suffix of walia |
| 4 | Ahuja | Jatt and Sikh name, desecendant of Ahu |
| 5 | Ahluja | Refers to the descendants of Ahlu |
| 6 | Ajmeria | Gotras of Jats |
| 7 | Anand | Founder of the Anand clan of the Kahtri community |
| 8 | Aneja | Refers to a clan in the Arora community |
| 9 | Arora | Ones who belong to Aror, also known as Rohri, which is in Pakistan |
| 10 | Atwal/ Attwal | Derived from Attalika, meaning high hill tops, originates from a Jatt clan from the region of Punjab |
| 11 | Aulakh | Originates from a Jatt clan in India and Pakistan |
| 12 | Babbar | Originates from the Jatt community |
| 13 | Bajaj | Refers to a clothier, a common surname for the Arora and Khatri communities |
| 14 | Bajwa | Refers to a hawk or falcon, the word comes from Persian |
| 15 | Batra | Originates from a clan in the Arora community |
| 16 | Bedi | A clan within the Khatri community |
| 17 | Behl | Name of clan in the Khatri community |
| 18 | Bhalla | Meaning auspicious, common for Sikhs and Punjabi khatris |
| 19 | Bhasin | Means the sun, a clan within the Khatri community |
| 20 | Bhatia | Community of merchants and landlords, located in the northwestern parts of the country |
| 21 | Bhatti | Means lord, belonging to the region between Punjab and Haryana called Bhattiana |
| 22 | Bhinder | Popular caste of Punjabi origin and meaning no fear |
| 23 | Bhullar | People from Batala in Gurdaspur |
| 24 | Bindra | Refers to high hill tops, common between Jatts and Khatris |
| 25 | Brar | Originates from the tribe of the Jatt community |
| 26 | Brar | Jats clan of Sikhs and Punjabis |
| 27 | Chahal | Hindu and Sikh Jatts |
| 28 | Chawla | Clan within the Arora community is also found in the Khatris and Jatt communities |
| 29 | Chhabra | Name of the Arora clan |
| 30 | Chillar | Gotra from Punjab |
| 31 | Chopra | Khatri Hindu and Sikh name |
| 32 | Deol | Name of a Jatt clan |
| 33 | Dhaliwal | Jatt tribe and Bhatti Rajputs, a Hindu and Sikh surname |
| 34 | Dhankar | Jatt surname of Haryana origin |
| 35 | Dhanoa | Gotra of Jats found in Amritsar, Punjab, and Pakistan |
| 36 | Dhawan | Clan of the Khatri community |
| 37 | Dhillon | Second largest Jatt tribe of Punjab |
| 38 | Dosanjh | common in Jats, derived from the village Dosanjh in Punjab, also means a union of two |
| 39 | Duggal | Clan from the Khatri community |
| 40 | Gambhir | A Surname of the Arora community |
| 41 | Ghai | Punjabi Khatri community |
| 42 | Gill | Clan from the Jatt community, meaning prosperity |
| 43 | Grover | Common for Khatri, Jatts, and Sikhs |
| 44 | Gulati | A Surname from the Arora community |
| 45 | Handa | A common surname in the Khatri community |
| 46 | Hans | A Arora community surname, which refers to a swan |
| 47 | Jhakar | Gotra of Jatts found in Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana |
| 48 | Jangra | Commonly found in Haryana |
| 49 | Jaswal | Common for Jatt Sikhs and Jatt muslims |
| 50 | Juneja | Surname from the Arora community, tribe from the Sindh region, presently in Pakistan |
| 51 | Kakkar | Clan of Bahri subdivision of the Khatri community |
| 52 | Kalra | Clan of Arora community |
| 53 | Kambhoj | An agricultural community of Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims faiths, from northern Pakistan and India |
| 54 | Kamra | Clan of Arora community |
| 55 | Kapoor | Punjabi Khatri community |
| 56 | Kataria | They are Jatts from Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan |
| 57 | Kaur | It is used for baptised female Sikh women |
| 58 | Kaushal | Family name in Punjabis, lineal descendants of Rishi Hiranyabha Kaushal, the human son of Lord Brahma, who created life on the planet |
| 59 | Khanna | A name from the Khatri community, originally belonging to the city of Khanna in Punjab |
| 60 | Khurana | A clan from the Arora community |
| 61 | Kohli | Name of a clan of Khatri community |
| 62 | Maan | A Haryanvi name originates from Haryana |
| 63 | Madan | Used by Kashmiris, Punjabis, especially the Arora community |
| 64 | Mahajan | Used by people who live in Punjab |
| 65 | Malik | Surname used by Punjabis in Kashmir and Punjab |
| 66 | Mhendiratta | A tribe of Punjabi khatris from Pakistan and parts of Punjab, peace-loving people |
| 67 | Monga | A surname of Rajputs and Jats |
| 68 | Nanda | A name from the Punjabi Khatri community |
| 69 | Narang | One from the Arora community |
| 70 | Narula | Common amongst Sikhs, a clan of the Arora community |
| 71 | Parkash | A common last name used by the clan of Khatri community |
| 72 | Pathania | Derived from Pathankot Tehsil, members from Punjab and Jammu |
| 73 | Punia | Widely found in Haryana |
| 74 | Puri | Khatri surname is from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan |
| 75 | Randhawa | Jatt clan of Punjab of India and Pakistan |
| 76 | Sachdeva | Arora Hindu and Sikh surname |
| 77 | Sagar | Hindu and Sikh names from the Khatri community |
| 78 | Sahni/Sawhney | Khatri surname |
| 79 | Sahota | A jatt caste from Punjab and the hilly regions of India and Pakistan |
| 80 | Sandhu | Second largest tribe of Punjab |
| 81 | Sareen | Hindu and Sikh names from the Khatri community |
| 82 | Sehgal | Punjabi Kshatriya or Khatri community |
| 83 | Sethi | Common surname from Jatt Sikh clans from Rajasthan and Punjab |
| 84 | Shergill | Jatt tribes from Punjab |
| 85 | Singh | Ornamental title adopted by warriors and mandatory for Sikhs |
| 86 | Sobti | Clan from the Punjabi Khatri community |
| 87 | Sodhi | A name from the Khatri community and Sikhs as well |
| 88 | Soni | A name from Punjabi Khatris |
| 89 | Sood | A name from a community of merchants and traders |
| 90 | Suri | A name from the Khatri community |
| 91 | Talwar | A clan from the Khatri community |
| 92 | Tandon | Clan of warriors in the Khatri community |
| 93 | Taneja | Name of a clan in the Arora community |
| 94 | Thapar | A clan of the Khatri community |
| 95 | Tuli | Name of a warrior in the Khatri community |
| 96 | Vij | A common name among Punjabi khatris |
| 97 | Vohra | Common between Punjabi khatris and Sikhs |
| 98 | Wadhwa | A common name from Khatri, Jats, or Sikhs |
| 99 | Wahe (Wahie) | A name from the Khatri community |
| 100 | Walia | A short name from Ahluwalia originates from the people from Ahalowal in western Punjab and Chakwal |
[Read: Top 100 Gujarati Surnames or Last Names in India ]
FAQ’s
1. Why Do Punjabi Families Often Have the Same Surnames?
The religious Guru of Punjabi Sikhs tried to eradicate the caste system and religious inequalities. It is from them that most Punjabis ended up having the same surnames to indicate their unity and to stay away from caste barriers. They adapted Singh and Kaur. Singh means lion, and Kaur means lioness. The men in most Punjabi families take their last name as Sing,h and the women take up Kaur.
2. What is the Most Common Punjabi Surname?
The most common Punjabi Surnames are Singh and Kaur. Singh is for men and Kaur is for women. They both imply the same meaning. Other common surnames include Vohra, Bhalla, Wadhwa, Thaper, Taneja, Sodhi, Monga, Punia, Pathania, etc.
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