Tamil Surname Directory

Traditionally most Tamils use a given name preceded by the father's initial (e.g., S. Ramasamy). Family or hereditary surnames became common only in diaspora communities, in documents required by colonial administrations (indenture passes, Natal immigration), and among specific communities who use village, lineage, or trade names as fixed surnames. Both patterns show up in the records on TamizhConnect.

Common sources are: the father's given name (patronymic, often shortened to an initial); the ancestral village; a hereditary trade or office; a linguistic root (Sanskrit or Tamil); or a community-specific tradition. The same name can appear in multiple categories -- 'Pillai' and 'Chettiar', for example, are historically occupational titles that later became hereditary in some communities.

Spellings diverge because clerks transliterated Tamil phonetically in colonial-era records. The same name can appear as Krishnan / Krishnaswamy / Kirshnan / Krichenin across Natal, Mauritius, Fiji, Reunion and Trinidad. The surname pages on TamizhConnect list common variants so searches match the right person.

Each surname page cross-references indenture-era records (Natal, Mauritius, Fiji, Jamaica) and passenger lists where available. Tamil Nadu voter-roll cross-references are coming soon and are not yet shown on these pages. The index page lists common names; the per-surname pages carry the detail.

Yes -- type any surname into the search box above and press Enter. If a dedicated page exists you'll land on it; if not, a research page is generated that collates whatever cross-references we have for that name.