Notable People Named Pillai
- Nairs of Travancore
- Iravikutty Pillai - Army Commander of Travancore
- Raja Kesavadas Pillai a.k.a. Raman Kesavan Pillai before being invested with 'Rajah' Title.
- Sir N. R. Pillai, Indian Civil Servant, One of the only three knighted Nairs and first Cabinet Secretary of Independent India
- Barrister G. P. PillaiEstablished the first English Newspaper in South India
- Sreekanteswaram Padmanabha Pillai Lexicographer
- Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai Journalist and Political Activist. Translated Karl Marx's biography into Malayalam
- Mannathu Padmanabhan Pillai (1878–1970), founder of Nair Service Society later dropped his 'Pillai' title
- Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (1885–1970), Second Chief Minister of unified Kerala
- Paravur TK Narayana Pillai (1890–1971), Indian freedom fighter
- G. Parameswaran Pillai (1890–1963), Dewan of Travancore
- A. R. Pillai, Indian freedom fighter
- Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, a writer of Malayalam poetry
- Naraina Pillai, a social entrepreneur and businessman
- M. P. Narayana Pillai, a Malayalam writer
- V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, current Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU
- P. Govinda Pillai, a Communist Party of India leader* Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1912–1999), a Malayalam author
- K. C. Sreedharan Pillai (1920–1985), Indian mathematician
- R. Balakrishna Pillai (born 1935), former State minister in Kerala
- Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai (born 1931), Leader of Indian Coffee House movement, Author of Coffee Housinte Katha
- People of Tamil Vellala Saiva Descent
- V. O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936), Indian freedom fighter
- Champakaraman Pillai (1891–1934), Freedom fighter from Travancore of Tamil descent
- Namakkal Kavignar Ramalingam Pillai, poet and freedom fighter
- Rao Bahadur P. I. Chinnaswamy Pillai, first Municipal Chairman of Palakkad, Kerala, India
- L. D. Swamikannu Pillai, Indian astronomer, Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly
- Navanethem Pillay, South African Judge, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, minister of Ramnad during the reign of Muthuramalinga Sethupathy*
- Ariranga Pillay (born 1945), former Chief Justice and briefly Acting President of Mauritius
- Sardar Vedarathinam Pillai, Indian Freedom Fighter - Vedaraniam Salt March
- Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai, Indian freedom fighter, great poet
- Rao Sahib S. Sambasivam Pillai (1887–1945), Municipal Chairman, Erode, Tamil Nadu and Engineering Contractor of Mettur Dam, Erode Railway Station, and Ulundurpet Air-Strip.
- Ananda Ranga Pillai (1709–1761), a dubash in the service of French East India Company
- Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai, eminent writer in Tamil literature; his poem " Niraarum Kadal Udutha" is the official Tamil Anthem
- Nagai Vedachalam Pillai, also known as Maraimalai Adigal
- Devasahayam Pillai (1712–1752), Indian court official, controversial convert to Christianity
- Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725–1764), Indian soldier and administrator. Also known as "Muhammed Yusuf Khan"
- Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–1950), Indian mathematician
- Dr. Sivathanu Pillai, Head of Defence Research and Development Organisation
- Rajmohan Pillai (born 1964), Indian businessman
- Dhanraj Pillay (born 1968), Indian hockey player
- Nisha Pillai, Indian-born journalist and BBC news anchor
- Rhea Pillai, Indian model
- S. Kanapathipillai (1899–1986), Hindu revivalist
- Marimutthu Pillai, a musician
- C. W. Thamotharampillai, publisher of ancient Tamil texts
- Arumuka Navalar, born as Kandar Arumugam Pillai, a Hindu reformer
- K. R. Thangamuthu Pillai, a Tamil freedom fighter from Madurai, India who fought against British oppression and was a notable supporter of Bhagat Singh in Tamil Nadu.
- Palani Subramaniam Pillai (1908–1962), Carnatic music percussionist
People of other Tamil descent
- Velu Pillai Prabagaran, LTTE leader who fought and died for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.
- K. C. Pillai, Doctor of Divinity, (1900–1970) a Bishop-at-large of the Indian Orthodox Church, Antiochean Succession, Chennai (Madras), India.
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