Menon is a surname of the

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...

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 ...

, India, and is an honorific hereditary title, often used as an affix to one's name, bestowed by the various kings of Kerala (including the

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...

) to the members of Nair subcastes. The recipient of the title held it lifelong, and the male members of the family held it in perpetuity along the matrilineal line. Historically, the Menons were feudal landlords or Naduvazis, and were often engaged in various administrative and political duties, such as being ministers and advisors in the service of the kings of Kerala. Many members of the Menon subcaste are related to the rulers of the

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

. Furthermore, members of the Cochin royal family were often married to aristocratic Menon families. Thus, the children of such

Maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

s held the Menon title and passed it to subsequent generations. Many royal families also emerged from this subcaste. The famous Paliath Achans from the Paliam Royal family of Cochin, the Walluvanad royal family and the Shekhari Varmas Palakkad Royal family, all belong to this subcaste.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menon Nair Titles in India