I Have Made PARSI IRANI SURNAMES – ALPHABETICAL as Well as GROUP WISE, along with some Comments on The Origin of The Surnames
Click on The Link PARSI IRANI SURNAMES Below to Go To Site
PARSI IRANI SURNAMES – GROUP WISE
Researched & Compiled by – Burjor M. Daboo ~ Ahmedabad.
burkhurdar@gmail.com
Or copy the following link
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pj492252RkV6rrk7hswhrFw&output=html
As a result of the gradual transformation, surnames too transgressed.
Certain surnames, in Vogue a few decades back have been dropped today & many origins of the extant surnames are forgotten today!
My aim is to bring to light a few of them & segregate them in Groups.
Surnames also show assimilation of other communities, as Parsis in India were exposed to the majority communities from time to time.
The Surnames of Irani Zoroastrians Seem distinct from that of those who assimilated in India. It can be gleaned from the various surnames, that Majority of them are Trades & Professions.
Followed by Geographical Or Places; Positions & Titles; Characteristics or Descriptions; Geneology, Irani Origin, European Terms; Religious Terms etc.
Some Muslim effect too can be gleaned from Surnames like- Mulla, Mirza, Nazir Khansaheb, Davar etc. With the advent of the Europeans in India.
The Fair skinned Parsis who were ready to adopt to any circumstances got into their good books. Certain Surnames were adopted from the Company they used to work for
Like Gordon, Polson, Dallas, Boyce, Devitre etc. Some were were anglicised~ Chiani to Chinoy, Sheth to Sett, Nanabhai to Nanabhoy, Vakil became Lawyer, Shroff became Banker etc.
Surnames ending in ‘WALA’ (mainly – Of) could be either of Place or Of that Trade. The same way, ‘GAR’/’GARA’ too could be ‘A MAKER’, or it could show ‘OF A PLACE’ *
{Actually it is GAR / GARA – To Make} & {GHAR / GHARA – Stayer} It shows that the Parsis were everywhere, right from Zaiwala to Madraswala to Adenwala,*
adopted from the place they lived & were masters at the Trade done, from Roowala, to Workingboxwala to Pajnigara to Chichgar.
Parsees have Generally adopted Surnames From :
1) TRADE / PROFESSION ~ Vakil, Doctor, Wadia, Ghaaswala, Pithawala, Unwala, Engineer, Major, Subedar etc.
2) PLACES Or GEOGRAPHICAL ~ SANJAN-Sanjana, SURAT-Surti, KHAMBHAT-Khambata, AKOLA- Akolawala, MADRAS- Madraswala etc.
3) POSITION & TITLES ~ Desai, Munshi, Munsaf, Khansaheb, Davar, Daftari, Patel, Aga etc.
4) CHARACTERISTICS / DISCRIPTIVE NAMES ~ Bhoot, Waghmar, GhooKhaoo, Gora, Batki, Behrana, Mooga, Motigaanwala etc.
5) RELIGIOUS TERMS ~ (Many No longer used) Daadaar, Yatha-Ahu-Vairyo, Dregubyo, Ahurai, Parsi, Athajamyat, Zarathosty, Khodayji etc.
6) GENEALOGY ~ (Taking Father’s Name as Surname) : e.g. Dadabhai-NAOROJI, Sam-MANEKSHAH, Homi-DINSHAJI, Behram-KAMDIN etc.
Some Double Barrled : (Name+Father’s Name as surname): e.g. Dady+Seth, Kaamaa+Khan, Minocher+Homji, Meherji+Rana, Dada+Chanji, Etc.
7) EUROPEAN NAMES ~ Devitre, Green, Boyce, Grant, Noble, Forbes, Gordon, Polson, Wykes / Vikes, Malcolm, Nicholson. etc.
8) IRANI ~ Mondegari, Yegatabadi, Nasiarabadi, Yazadi, Falamarzian, Felfeli, Khobiyaar, Khodavandi, Pourbahrami, Yaganegi, Most common being Irani itself.
