Marathi People - Marathi Names

Marathi Names

In Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat, the naming system is similar. For example, the first name of cricketer Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is "Sunil;" "Manohar" is his father's name, and "Gavaskar" is the family name. Traditionally, married women take on their husband's given name as their middle name, in addition to adopting his family name. In Maharashtra sometimes a male newborn is named after his grandfather's name.

Some Maharastrians address men as "Rao" or "Saheb" . (E.g. Sunil will be called Sunilrao.) Similarly, women are names may have the suffix "bai" or "tai" (elder sister) This is generally an informal convention, used between friends and not on official documents.

A number of Marathi family names end in 'kar', e.g.Pasalkar, Ambekar, Ambadkar, Tendulkar, Kolatkar Keskar, Anwekar, Adawadkar, Acharekar, Bhadkamkar, Divekar, Dandekar, Dahanukar, Pingulkar, Kanitkar, Chiparikar, Nerkar and Kurundkar are typically associated with the ancestral village of the family.

Popular last names amongst Marathi Hindu people that denote profession or rank include Patil ( village chief), Deshmukh (chief of 5 or 10 villages), Inamdar, Thanekar, Kulkarni (village accountant), Joshi ( astrologer / priest). The surnames of Marathi rulers like Bhonsle, Shinde, Gaikwad, Pawar and Pasalkar are found not only amongst 96 Maratha clans but also in other castes and sub-castes.