Nayar or Nayyar is a surname that is found among

Khatri Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...

community which are majorly

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

with a minority of

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The belong to the "''Sareen''" division among the Khatris. They were mostly concentrated in the

Majha Majha ( ''Mājhā''; ; from "mañjhlā" )Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ , is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region, presently split between the republics of Pakistan and India. It extends north from the ...

region especially in the districts of Gujrat,

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Okara,

Nankana Sahib Nankana Sahib (; ) is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among ...

and

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

before 1947. Nayyar families were known to have been qanungos (governors) in the town of

Kunjah Kunjah (Punjabi and ) is a city in Gujrat District of Punjab, Pakistan. History Various accounts date the founding of Kunjah anywhere from the 4th century BCE during the time of Alexander the Great to the 8th century CE. Kunjah is named after ...

in Gujrat district, Punjab. As a custom, milk is never churned in Nayyar families because one of their ancestors died of drinking whey in which a snake had got accidentally churned.

Notable people

* A. Nayyar (born 1950), Pakistani singer * Abdul Hameed Nayyar (born 1945), Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist * Abdul Rahim Nayyar (1833–1948), Pakistani Ahmadiyya missionary * Adam Nayyar (1948–2008), Pakistani anthropologist and author * Ajay Nayyar, Indian actor *

Ankur Nayyar Ankur Nayyar is an Indian television and film actor. He has worked in many shows like '' Kasautii Zindagii Kay'', '' Kashmeer'' and '' Jeet''. He is also known for playing the lead role of Samman Chaudhary in Sahara One's show '' Ghar Ek Sapna ...

(born 1967), Indian actor * Anil Nayar, Indian squash player *

Anindita Nayar Anindita Nayar born 1 July 1988, is an Indian actress. And she made her debut in ''Amit Sahni Ki List'' as the lead opposite Vir Das in 2014. Early life and career Anindita collected her first ad commercial for Idea with the "No Idea - Get Ide ...

(born 1988), Indian actress *

Anjali Nayar Anjali Nayar is a Canadian-Indian filmmaker, former climate scientist, and founder of the TIMBY suite of environmental and human rights reporting tools. Nayar’s most recent feature film about gut health and the microbiome, ''Hack Your Health' ...

, Canadian journalist *

Anuj Nayyar Captain Anuj Nayyar, MVC (August 28, 1975 – July 7, 1999) was an Indian Army officer of 17 Jat Regiment who was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest gallantry award, for exemplary valour in combat during operation ...

(1975–1999), Indian army officer * Baldev Raj Nayar (1931–2021), Indian-Canadian political scientist * Deepak Nayyar (born 1946), Indian professor of Economics *

Dewan Mokham Chand Diwan Mokham Chand (died 16 or 29 October 1814) was one of the chief commanders of the Sikh Empire. He conquered Attock from the Durrani Afghans in 1813 and subdued the Rajputs in the Hills of Himachal and in Jammu at Jasrota, Chamba, and ...

Nayyar (1750–1814), General of the Sikh Empire *

Falguni Nayar Falguni Sanjay Nayar (born 19 February 1963) is an Indian billionaire businesswoman, who is the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa, formally known as FSN E-Commerce Ventures which is an acronym of her own name. Nayar ...

(born 1963), Indian businesswoman *

Harsh Nayyar Harsh Nayyar (born in New Delhi, India) is an Indian actor. Theatre As a student, in April, 1973, Harsh Nayyar starred as ''Dracula'' in a Thompson Theatre production in Raleigh, NC. Nayyar continued to play in various theatre productions. For ...

, Indian actor * Jagdish Nayar, Indian politician *

Kuldip Nayar Kuldip Nayar (14 August 1923 – 23 August 2018) was an Indian journalist, syndicated columnist, human rights activist, author and former High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom noted for his long career as a left-wing political com ...

(born 1923), Indian journalist *

Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is an actor. He gained recognition with his portrayal of Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom '' Sanjay and Craig'' ( ...

(born 1981), Indian-American actor *

Manu Nayyar Manu Nayyar (born 9 May 1964) is an Indian former cricketer. He played 57 first-class matches for Delhi between 1986 and 1994. He is now working as a referee. See also * List of Delhi cricketers This is a list of all cricketers who have pl ...

(born 1964), Indian cricketer *

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company is Mirabai Films. Among her films are '' Mississippi Masala'', '' The Namesake'', the Golden Lion–winning '' Monsoon Wedding'', ...

(born 1957), American filmmaker *

Mudit Nayar Mudit Nayyar is an Indian television actor. Early life Mudit was born in Allahabad. Personal life Nayar married her girlfriend Aprajita Shrivastava on 28 February 2018. Career Mudit made his television début with ''Palampur Express'' as Tan ...

, Indian actor * Nasir Abbas Nayyar (born 1965), Pakistani writer *

Neeraj Nayar Neeraj Nayar (born 17 August 1971) is the Indian politician from Himachal Pradesh. He is a member of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly representing Chamba Assembly constituency, Chamba. He won 2022 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly electi ...

(born 1971), Indian politician *

O. P. Nayyar Omkar Prasad Nayyar (16 January 1926 – 28 January 2007) was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film indust ...

(1926–2007), Indian film music director *

Pawan Nayyar Pawan Nayyar is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is a member of the legislative assembly (MLA) from Chamba, Himachal Pradesh Chamba is a town in the Chamba district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Accor ...

, Indian politician * Pyarelal Nayyar (1899–1982), Gandhi's personal secretary * Rajat Nayyar, also known as Roger Nair, Canadian producer * Rajeev Nayyar (born 1968), Indian cricketer * Rana Nayar (born 1957), Indian writer and translator * R. K. Nayyar (1930–1995), Indian director and producer *

Sharif Nayyar Sharif Nayyar ( 24 April 2007), was a Pakistani film director. Having a career spanning over four decades, he directed his first film in 1947 in British Raj, British Indiam and directed a total of 13 films including a Punjabi film. In Pakistani ...

(1922–2007), Pakistani director *

Suhail Nayyar Suhail Nayyar is an Indian actor. Suhail Nayyar is a part of the web series, ''Life Sahi Hai'', and co-starred in ''Hotel Mumbai'', a 2018 American-Australian thriller film based on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, directed by Anthony Maras. His rece ...

, (born 1989), Indian Bollywood actor *

Sushila Nayyar Sushila Nayyar, also spelt 'Nayar' (26 December 1914 – 3 January 2001), was an Indian physician, a lifelong follower of Mahatma Gandhi, and a politician. She played a leading role in public health, medical education and social and rural ...

(1914–2000), Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary and physician *

Vineet Nayyar Vineet Nayyar (1938 – 16 May 2024) was an Indian businessman and IT executive who was Vice-Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Tech Mahindra, and chairman of Mahindra Satyam. He was also the Vice-Chairman of IL&FS. Early life and edu ...

(1937–2024), Indian businessman *

V. K. Nayar Lt. Gen. V. K. Nayar PVSM, SM (died 30 November 2015) was a former Indian Army officer and Governor of Nagaland. While in the Army, he served as a Paratrooper, an infantryman, a Counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spe ...

(?-2015), Indian soldier and governor

References

{{given name, type=both Surnames of Indian origin Punjabi-language surnames Surnames of Hindu origin Khatri surnames