Cherian/Cheriyan is a Syrian Christian surname of

West Asian Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes An ...

(

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

) origin, presumed to be a derivative of

Zecharya Zechariah most often refers to: * Zechariah (Hebrew prophet), author of the Book of Zechariah * Zechariah (New Testament figure), father of John the Baptist Zechariah or its many variant forms and spellings may also refer to: People *Zechariah ...

(Zacharias or Zechariah) and a variant of Zacharias popular among the Christian community of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The final -n is the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

third-person masculine singular suffix. In India it is mostly found only as a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

although this trend is changing in the present generations, but in the United States and United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, it is also used as a family name among expatriate families from Kerala.

Origins

The generally accepted explanation is that this name is of Semitic (Hebrew-Aramaic) origin, presumed to be a derivative of Zecharya (Zacharias or Zechariah) and a variant of Zacharias. This is supported by the fact that Kerala was one of the chief centers for ancient spice trading between the West and East and there was a historic Nasrani community with religious, linguistic, cultural and genetic connections to the Levant and Middle East. The final ''-n'' is the typical Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix. There is an alternative hypothesis suggesting an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

origin for the name. This relies on the empirical observation that a name ending with ''ian'' is highly probable to be an Armenian name. The original candidate Armenian name is Khatcherian which means "follower or son of the Cross". This theory also takes support from the fact that there has been significant presence of Armenians in India, especially Chennai and Kolkata, who migrated to India to escape persecution from Turkey.Kerala Christian Names Origin and English Equivalents
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Notable people with the name

* Cherian K. Cherian (born 1932), Malayalam–language poet from Kerala * Cheriyan Kalpakavadi, Indian screenwriter for Malayalam films * Cherian Philip (born 1953), politician in Kerala, consultant for Kairali TV and former chairman of KTDC *

Accamma Cherian Akkamma Cherian was an Indian independence activist from Travancore (Kerala), India. She was popularly known as the Jhansi Rani of Travancore. Early life and education She was born on 14 February 1909 in a Roman Catholic family (Karippap ...

(1909–1982), Indian freedom-fighter * Jacob Cherian (1923–2007), a.k.a. ''Ayya'', Indian surgeon, educationist and social worker * Jayan K. Cherian, Indian poet and filmmaker living in USA *

Joy Cherian Dr. Joy Cherian is the first Asian American and first Indian American Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC). Joy Cherian was appointed as the Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Oppo ...

(born 1942), the first Asian American and first Indian American Commissioner at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) * K. M. Cherian (doctor), Indian heart surgeon who performed India's first coronary artery bypass surgery * K. M. Cherian (journalist) (1897–1973), media personality and chief editor of Malayala Manorama daily * M. K. Cheriyan, Indian teacher, literarian, Biblical scholar and orator * P. V. Cherian (1893–1969), Indian physician, surgeon, politician and Governor (of Maharashtra) *

Saji Cheriyan Saji Cheriyan (born 28 May 1965) is an Indian politician from Kerala. He currently serves as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Chengannur constituency. He was the former Minister for Fisheries, Culture and Youth Affairs (2021 � ...

(born 1965), Indian politician * Tara Cherian (1913–2000), Indian social activist and politician, the first woman mayor of Madras city * Tarun Cherian, Indian poet, artist psychic and spiritual healer

Fictional characters

* Neha Cherian, in the novel '' Five Point Someone'' by

Chetan Bhagat Chetan Bhagat (born 22 April 1974) is an Indian author, columnist and YouTuber. He was included in Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People in 2010. Five of his novels have been adapted into films. Family, education, a ...

References

{{Surname Surnames of Indian origin Indian surnames