Desai () is an Indian administrative, princely or honorary title and

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

Etymology

The word is derived from the Sanskrit ''deśa'' (country) and ''svāmī'' (lord).

Desai as a title

Desai was a title given to

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

s, and others who were granted a village or group of villages in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, and

North Karnataka North Karnataka (kannada: ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ''Transliteration: Uttara Karnataka'') is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consi ...

. The title Desai should not be associated with a particular religion or caste, though a Desai would use the title of Rao or Rai or Raje as a suffix to his name denoting he is a king of those villages, The "Desai" title was given by Maratha emperors,

Mughal emperors The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty ( House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire i ...

and by the

Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...

. * In Maharashtra, the title ''Desai'' is conferred to feudal lords and village council members. Most of them are either

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd), also known as Shenvis are a Hindu community of contested caste status and identity. They primarily speak Konkani and its various dialects as their mother tongue. They claim to be Saraswat Bra ...

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hinduism, Hindu Brahmin caste, subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Brahmins a ...

s, Karhade Brahmins, Prabhus ( CKP- Davane Prabhus and Pathare Prabhus), Lingayats, Patidars and

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

s. * Desais were the rulers of Kudal (

Sindhudurg Sindhudurg Fort (Marathi pronunciation: in̪d̪ʱud̪uɾɡ is a historical sea fort located in Arabian Sea near the Konkan region of Maharashtra in Western India. The fort, commissioned by Chhatrapati Shivaji, was constructed between 1664 ...

) in

. * Desai, or a loftier compound, was a rare title for rulers of a few princely states, notably - Raja Sar Desai in the Maratha Savantvadi State from 1627 until the adoption of "Raja Bahadur" in 1763. *Desai Shri in Patdi (the former Viramgam State), in Eastern Kathiawar, where Desai was also the name of the ruling family, which belongs to the Desai clan of Kadwa Patidar. *In Gujarat, ''Desai'' is honoured to Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahimins, Vaishnav Vanik and Rabari and Patidars caste people. The title was also given to feudal lords and revenue collectors

Desai as a surname

Desai as a surname is used by

, Karhade Brahmin,

Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) or historically and commonly known as Chandraseniya Prabhu or just Prabhu is a caste mainly found in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. Th ...

, Pathare Prabhu, Panchkalshi, Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahmin, Rabari, Leva Patel,

Patidar Patidar (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ), formerly known as Kunbi, Kanbi (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ), is an Indian land-owning and peasant Caste system in India, caste and community native to Gujarat. The community comprises at multiple sub ...

, and Lingayat communities of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and

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 ...

Individual people

Notable individuals with the surname Desai include: ; Public officers * Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai – politician; former Prince of Dhasa * Babubhai Desai - Ex MLA of kankrej * Kantilal Thakoredas Desai – second Chief Justice of

* Kevit Desai - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education state department for Vocational and Technical Training,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

* Krishna Desai – CPI politician *

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian politician and Indian independence activist, independence activist who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading th ...

– Prime Minister of India (1977–79) * Mahadev Desai – Secretary to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

* S. T. Desai – first Chief Justice of Gujarat * Haridas Viharidas Desai - Diwan of Junagadh state (1883–95) * Bhimsen Venkatrao Desai - Politician; Member of the 7th and 8th Lok Sabha representing the Raichur constituency of Karnataka List of members of the 7th Lok Sabha#Karnataka * Shamburaj Shivajirao Desai- State Minister Of Home Affairs, Maharashtra, Currently Serving His 4th Term As MLA in Maharashtra Assembly * Prakash K. Desai – Air Marshal of Indian Air Force ;Arts, sciences and business * Anita Desai – Author; mother of author Kiran Desai * Bhairavi Desai – American

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader * Bindu Desai – Actress * C. D. Desai – Banker and

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

* Ebrahim Desai – Islamic scholar * Kiran Desai – Author; 2006

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

winner * Kishwar Desai – Author *

Manmohan Desai Manmohan Desai (26 February 1937 – 1 March 1994) was an Indian film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmakers of the 70s and 80s. Desai was an influential and sought-after film director of Bollywood and a pioneer of ...

– Director * Mavjibhai Desai – Vice Chairman of Banas Dairy * Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai –

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

* Mihir A. Desai - American economist and professor at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

* Nitin Chandrakant Desai – Art director * Padma Desai – American economist and professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

* Ramanlal Desai - Gujarati writer * Ranjit Desai –

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

writer * Salil Desai – Author * Sapan Desai – American physician; publisher and discredited researcher * Umedram Lalbhai Desai – Physician * Jhinabhai Desai – Gujarati poet and author better known by his pen name Snehrashmi, educator, political leader and Indian independence activist *

Usha Desai Usha Desai is an Indian doctor of medicine and a tree expert. Education and medical career Desai holds a Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom (M.R.C.P.). She worked as a doctor at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospit ...

- Medical doctor and environmentalist * Prasannavadan Bhagwanji Desai – Demographer, economist and Indian independence activist * K. B. Desai – Medical doctor, Indian independence activist and political leader * Roopali Desai – American federal judge ; Culture & Sports * Anoop Desai – American singer * Gunwant Desai – Indian cricketer * K. R. Desai - Cricketer; philanthropist; educator * Prachi Desai – Actress * Ramakant Desai – Cricketer; India's first fast bowler * Rashami Desai – Actress * Ravish Desai – Actor * Renu Desai – Actress * Satyaki "Sattu" Desai – Environmental officer * Sean Desai - American football coach; Defensive Coordinator for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

* Subhash Desai – Shiv Sena leader * Tina Desai – Actress * Rajdeep Sardesai - News Anchor

References

{{Reflist Indian feudalism Surnames of Indian origin Surnames of Hindu origin Gujarati-language surnames

Etymology

Desai as a title

Desai as a surname

Individual people

See also

References