Mehta is an

Indian surname Indian names are based on a variety of systems and naming conventions, which vary from region to region. Names are also influenced by religion and caste and may come from epics. India's population speaks a wide variety of languages and nearly ...

, derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

word ''mahita'' meaning 'great' or 'praised'. It is found among several Indian religious groups, including

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

and

Parsis Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim c ...

. Among Hindus, it is used by a wide range of castes and social groups, including

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s and

Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

(caste). Among

Oswal The Oswal (sometimes spelled Oshwal or Osval) are a Jain community with origins in the Marwar region of Rajasthan and Tharparkar district in Sindh. They claim to be of Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large ...

s, Porwal, and

Punjabi Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

s, Mehta is a clan name.Dictionary of American Family Names
Oxford University Press,

Notable people

Notable individuals with this surname include: *

Aditya Mehta Aditya Mehta (born 31 October 1985 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian former professional snooker player. He participated on the World Snooker Tour for the 2007–08 season, and between 2011 and 2018. He reached a highest world ranking of 49. Mehta ...

(born 1985), snooker player * Ajay Mehta, Indian actor *

Alok Mehta Alok Mehta (born 7 September 1952) is an Indian journalist, TV broadcaster and writer . In 2009, he received the civilian honour of Padma Shri from the Government of India. Mehta's work has focused on issues of social welfare, including educati ...

(born 1952), Indian journalist *

Amit Mehta Amit Priyavadan Mehta (born 1971) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and a Judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Biography Amit Priyavadan Mehta was ...

(born 1971), United States district judge * Anil Mehta, film director, cinematographer *

Ashok Mehta Ashok Mehta (1947 – 15 August 2012) was a noted national film award-winning Indian film cinematographer, known for films such as ''Bandit Queen'' (1994), ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' (1981) and '' Utsav'' (1984). He won the National Film Award f ...

(1947–2012), Indian cinematographer * Atul Mehta (born 1949), Indian cricketer * Balwantrai Mehta (1900–1965), Gujarat's second Chief Minister *

Pratap Bhanu Mehta Pratap Bhanu Mehta (born 1967) is an Indian academician. He was the president of the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank and was the Vice-Chancellor of Ashoka University from July 2017 to July 2019. Early life Pratap was bo ...

(born 1967), Indian academic and think tank. *

Bejun Mehta Bejun Mehta (born 29 June 1968) is an American countertenor. He has been awarded the Echo Klassik, the Gramophone Award,http://www.gramophone.co.uk/awards/2014/contemporary Gramophone Awards 2014 Contemporary Le Diamant d’Opera Magazine, the Ch ...

(born 1968), American countertenor * Deepa Mehta (born 1950), Canadian film director and screenwriter *

Devaanshi Mehta Devaanshi Mehta (18 December 1996 – 28 June 2012) was a British - Indian student and humanitarian. She started the Asian Donor Campaign (ADC), a UK-based non-profit organisation whose goal is to raise awareness for the need to get more Asians ...

(1996–2012), British-Indian student who started the Asian Donor Campaign *

Gita Mehta Gita Mehta (née Patnaik; born 1943) is an Indian writer and documentary filmmaker. Biography Born in Delhi into a well-known Odia people, Odia family, she is the daughter of Biju Patnaik, an Indian Independence Movement, Indian independence ac ...

(''née'' Patnaik; born 1943), Indian writer * Gulshan Kumar Mehta (1937–2009), Indian lyricist and actor *

Hansa Jivraj Mehta Hansa Jivraj Mehta (3 July 1897 – 4 April 1995) was a reformist, social activist, educator, independence activist, feminist and writer from India. Early life Hansa Mehta was born in a Nagar Brahmin family on 3 July 1897. She was a daughter ...

(1897–1995), Indian reformist, social activist, educator, independence activist, and writer *

Harshad Mehta Harshad Shantilal Mehta (29 July 1954 — 31 December 2001) was an Indian stockbroker and a convicted fraudster. Mehta's involvement in the 1992 Indian securities scam made him infamous as a market manipulator. Of the 27 criminal charges br ...

(1954–2001), Indian stockbroker, who was later convicted *

Hemant Mehta Hemant Mehta (born February 25, 1983) is an American author, blogger, and atheist activist. Mehta is a regular speaker at atheist events, and has been a board member of charitable organizations such as the Secular Student Alliance and the Founda ...

(born 1983), American-born Indian author *

Homi Maneck Mehta Sir Homi Maneck Mehta KCIE KBE JP (1 April 1871 – 15 April 1948) was an Indian industrialist. Early years Homi Maneck Mehta was born in Mumbai (Bombay) to poor Parsi parents. He attended Elphinstone High School and after school life, by ...

(1871–1948), Indian industrialist and philanthropist *

Jagat Singh Mehta Jagat Singh Mehta (17 July 1922 – 6 March 2014) was an Indian politician and diplomat who was Foreign Secretary of India from 1976 to 1979. His daughter, known as Rani Vijay, is married to the Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad, son of Mohammad Ali ...

(1922–2014), Foreign Secretary of India * Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (1886–1952), Mayor of Karachi * Jay Mehta (born 1961), businessman and owner of the Mehta Group *

Jehangir Mehta Jehangir Mehta (born July 9, 1971 in Mumbai, India) is the executive chef and owner of New York City restaurants Graffiti, Me and You and Graffiti Earth. He is also the author of the 2008 HarperCollins cookbook "Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence," ...

(born 1971), chef and owner of New York City restaurants *

Jivraj Narayan Mehta Jivraj Narayan Mehta (29 August 1887 – 7 November 1978) was an Indian politician and the first Chief Minister of Gujarat. He also served as the first "Dewan" (Prime Minister) of the erstwhile Baroda state, and Indian high commissioner to the ...

(1887–1978), Gujarat's first Chief Minister * Kalu Mehta (1440–1522), father of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak *

Madan Lal Mehta Madan Lal Mehta (1932–2006) was a theoretical physicist of Indian origin, particularly known for his work in random matrix theory. Biography Madan Lal Mehta was born on 24 December 1932 in Relmagra, Rajasthan, a small village near Udaipur i ...

(1932–2006), theoretical physicist in the field of random matrix theory *

Mahendra Mehta Mahendra Singh Mehta (born 9 December 1955) is an Indian businessman. He is the chief executive of Vedanta Resources plc, a British multinational diversified metals and mining company. Early life Mahendra Mehta holds a BE degree in mechanical ...

(born 1955), CEO, Vedanta Resources; also known as Mahendar Singh * Mehli Mehta, (1908–2002): musician; founder of the Bombay Philharmonic and Bombay String Orchestras * Nakuul Mehta (born 1983), actor and model * Nariman Mehta (1920–2014), organic chemist and inventor of bupropion, the most commonly used antidepressant drug *

Narsinh Mehta Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh became a devotee of K ...

, Gujarati spiritual poet *

Nicky Mehta Nicky Mehta is a mezzo singer-songwriter, and member of Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. Early life Before fully entering into a life of music, Mehta attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario where she attained an honours degree i ...

, singer, songwriter, member of Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys * Phiroz Mehta (1902–1994), writer on religious topics, and philosopher *

Pherozeshah Mehta Sir Pherozeshah Merwanjee Mehta (4 August 1845 – 5 November 1915) was an Indian politician and lawyer from Bombay. He was knighted by the British Government in India for his service to the law. He became the Municipal commissioner of Bombay ...

(1845–1915), Indian political leader, activist, and lawyer *

Russell Mehta Russell Arunbhai Mehta is an Indian businessman. He is the managing director of Rosy Blue India, the Indian arm of the family-owned Indian conglomerate with interests in retail, media, real estate, financial services and diamonds Rosy Blue. Ear ...

, Indian businessman * Sahil Mehta (born 1988), Indian actor *

Sargun Mehta Sargun Mehta Dubey (; born 6 September 1988) is an Indian actress, model and television host. She has received three PTC Punjabi Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards Punjabi for her work in Punjabi Cinema. Mehta began acting in theatre produ ...

(born 1988), Indian model, comedian, dancer, presenter and actress * Shailendra Raj Mehta (born 1959), Indian economist, president and director, MICA * Shekhar Mehta (1945–2006), Ugandan-born Kenyan rally driver *

Sonny Mehta Ajai Singh "Sonny" Mehta (9 November 1942McFadden, Robert D. (31 December 2019) ''The New York Times''. – 30 December 2019) was an Indian editor and the editor-in-chief of Alfred A. Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ...

(born Ajai Singh Mehta; 1942–2019), Indian book editor *

Suketu Mehta Suketu Mehta is the New York-based author of ''Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found'', which won the Kiriyama Prize and the Hutch Crossword Award, and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, the Lettre Ulysses Prize, the BBC4 Samuel Johnson Pri ...

(born 1963), India-born American writer * Tyeb Mehta (1925–2009), Indian painter *

Uday Singh Mehta Uday Singh Mehta is an American political scientist, currently a Distinguished Professor at Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and previously the Clarence Francis Professor at Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private ...

, American political scientist * Veer Singh Mehta (born 1949), Indian neurosurgeon * Veronica Mehta, British Punjabi singer *

Vikram Bhagvandas Mehta Vikram Bhagvandas Mehta (August 15, 1946 – June 4, 2014) was an Indian mathematician who worked on algebraic geometry and vector bundles. Together with Annamalai Ramanathan he introduced the notion of Frobenius split varieties, which led ...

(1946–2014), Indian mathematician * Zarin Mehta (born 1938), executive director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra; brother of Zubin *

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

(born 1936), Indian conductor of Western classical music

References

{{reflist Indian surnames Gujarati-language surnames Khatri clans