Das is a common last name in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, among adherents of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

, as well as those who converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. It is a derived from the Sanskrit word

Dasa DASA (officially Deutsche AeroSpace AG, later Daimler-Benz AeroSpace AG, then DaimlerChrysler AeroSpace AG) was a German aerospace manufacturer. It was created during 1989 as the aerospace subsidiary arm of Daimler-Benz, Daimler-Benz AG (later D ...

(Sanskrit: दास) meaning devotee, disciple, votary, or one engaged in selfless service or

sevā (also known as , Sanskrit: wikt:सेवा, सेवा) is the concept of performing selfless service without expecting any reward. It holds significance in both Hinduism and Sikhism. Sevā is a Sanskrit term meaning 'selfless and meani ...

. "Das" refers to one who serves God or has surrendered to God. The surname is often used by those in Assamese, Bengali, Bihari, Oriya, Punjabi, and Vaishnav communities.

Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand

Das is a common surname among various castes and classes of Bengalis including Baidya, Bengali Kayastha, Mahishya, Tantubay, and others. In Bengal, the surname is also used by both Scheduled Castes and General Castes. In Bihar, it is used by people belonging to Ambashtha and Karn Kayastha castes. More broadly, in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, and

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

, the surname "Das" is also used by the

Dhobi Dhobi known in some places as Dhoba, Rajaka, a Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, scheduled caste in India and the greater Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are Clothes washing, washing, ironing, and Farmworker, agricultur ...

and Patni communities.

Assam

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, the Kaibarta, the Patni, the Koch-Rajbanshi, the Kalita and other communities also use Das as their surname.

Odisha

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, the Das surname is used by the Gopal and Karan castes, while "Dash" is used by the

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

Punjab

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, they generally belong to the

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

caste.

Karnataka

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, the Das surname is used by a section of Vokkaligas who profess Vaishnavism called Das Vokkaligas.

Notable people

* Abhishek Das, Indian football player * Ajit Das, Indian actor * Amil Kumar Das, Indian astronomer * Arjun Das, Indian actor * Ashok Kumar Das, Indian politician * Atulananda Das, Indian botanist * Bhagavan Das, Indian Theosophist * Bhagavan Das, an American yogi * Bhai Dyal Das, Sikh martyr * Bhai Mati Das, Sikh martyr * Bhai Sati Das, Sikh martyr * Bibhusita Das, Indian marine engineer * Bina Das, Indian revolutionary and nationalist * Bishnu Charan Das, Indian politician * Biswanath Das, Indian politician * Brojen Das, Bangladeshi swimmer *

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (friend of the country), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the political guru of Indi ...

, a Bengali lawyer and a major figure in the Indian independence movement * Dinesh Das, a Bengali poet * Durga Mohan Das, religious leader and social reformer * Gardhab Das, fictional character * Gobindachandra Das, a Bengali poet and writer * Gopabandhu Das, Indian freedom fighter, reformer, journalist and educationist from Odisha * Gopala Ballabha Das, Indian writer and deputy magistrate * Gurcharan Das, Indian Punjabi columnist for ''The Times of India'' *

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befor ...

, the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism *

Guru Ram Das Guru Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581), sometimes spelled as Guru Ramdas, was the fourth of the ten Sikh gurus. He was born to a family based in Lahore, who ...

, the fourth of the Sikh gurus * Hima Das, Assamese sprinter * Indrapramit Das, Indian science fiction, fantasy and cross genre writer from Kolkata * Jagannath Prasad Das, researcher in psychometrics and author of the ( PASS theory of intelligence) * Jatin Das, Indian painter from Odisha * Jatindra Nath Das, Freedom fighter * Jibanananda Das, a Bengali poet * K. S. R. Das, Indian film director * Kamala Das, Indian poet and author * Khagen Das, Indian politician * Liton Das, Bangladeshi Cricketer * Madhusudan Das, Odia lawyer and Indian nationalist of the 19th century * Maharaja Bhagwant Das, King of Jaipur (1527-1589) * Manoj Das, English and Odia writer * Mohini Mohan Das, Indian politician, writer and activist from West Bengal. *

Monica Das Dr. Monica Das is Associate Professor in Economics at Gargi College and a fellow at the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi, India. Her field of interest is feminist economics. She is a member of International Associatio ...

, Indian feminist economist * Moumita Das, Indian physicist * Mrinal Kanti Das, Bangladeshi politician * Naba Das, Indian politician * Namit Das is an Indian film and theatre actor. * Nandita Das, Indian film actress/director from Odisha * Nobin Chandra Das, Entrepreneur and inventor of Bengali Rosogolla * Parichay Das, path-breaker Bhojpuri- Hindi poet, essayist, critic * Prosenjit Das, Indian cricketer * Pulin Behari Das, Revolutionary, founder of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. * Pushpalata Das, Indian independence activist, social worker, Gandhian and legislator from Assam * Radha Charan Das, Former Vice-Chancellor of Berhampur University *

Raja Bhagwant Das Raja Bhagwant Das ( – 4 December 1589) was the 23rd ruler of Amber. He also served as the Mughal Subahdar of Lahore and the Subahdar of Kabul for a few months in 1586. His step-sister, Mariam-uz-Zamani, was the chief consort of Mughal empero ...

, Rajasthani ruler of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

* Raja Sitaram Ray, born Sitaram Das was an autonomous king of Bengal. * Ram Dass, American spiritual teacher, yoga guru, and author * Ranjan Das, Bangladeshi cricketer * Rima Das, Assamese Indian filmmaker * Riyan Parag Das, Assamese cricketer * Sadhu Sitaram Das was Indian revolutionary * Sarala Dasa, 14th-century poet of Odisha *

Sarat Chandra Das Sarat Chandra Dash () (18 July 1849 – 5 January 1917) was an Indian scholar of Tibetan language and culture most noted for his two journeys to Tibet in 1879 and in 1881–1882. Biography Born in Chittagong, eastern Bengal to a Bengali Hi ...

, Indian scholar of Tibetan language * Satish Ranjan Das, legal representative for the Indian government * Saumitra Das, Indian microbiologist * Seth Govind Das, a member of Indian Parliament * Shaktikanta Das, Governor of R.B.I. * Shiv Sunder Das, Indian Cricketer from Odisha * Shomie Das, schoolmaster * Shraddha Das, Indian film actress * Sudhi Ranjan Das, 5th Chief Justice of India * Suhasini Das, politician from Bangladesh * Surya Das, American religious educator * Tapan Das, Indian actor * Tarak Chandra Das, anthropologist, author, former teacher in University of Calcutta * Tarak Nath Das, Indian revolutionary and Internationalist scholar * Vasundhara Das, Indian actress and singer * Veena Das, a professor of anthropology * Vir Das, comedian and actor

References

{{surname Surnames of Indian origin Assamese-language surnames Bengali Hindu surnames Punjabi tribes