Patel is an Indian surname or

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

, predominantly found in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

, representing the community of land-owning farmers and later (with the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

) businessmen, agriculturalists and merchants. Traditionally the title is a status name referring to the village chieftains during

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times, and was later retained as successive generations stemmed out into communities of landowners. Circa 2015 there are roughly 500,000 Patels outside India, including about 150,000 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and about 150,000 in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly 1 in 10 people of Indian origin in the US is a Patel.

As a title

*Patel is a title of the

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

caste of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

which has the greatest importance in the

Politics of Gujarat The Indian state of Gujarat was created out of the 17 northern districts of former State of Bombay. The Mahagujarat movement was instrumental in the formation of a separate state, Gujarat. Politics in Gujarat has mostly been dominated by the ...

. The Koli Patels of

Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...

benefited the most under the rule of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

party. Koli Patels are recognised as an Other Backward Class caste by

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

. Koli Patels are

Agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the Agricultural science, science, practice, and management of Farming, agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, ...

by profession and own the high

landholding In real estate, a landed property or landed estate is a property that generates income for the owner (typically a member of the gentry) without the owner having to do the actual work of the estate. In medieval Western Europe, there were two compe ...

in villages. Koli Patels also call themselves as

Mandhata Mandhata, also called Omkareshwar or Shivapuri and ancient Mahishmati, capital of Avanti Mahajanpada is a riverine island in the Narmada River in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is situated on the south ...

Patel and Mandhata Koli Patel and those who have migrated to

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

are Businessman and civil servants. Some of the well known Clans of Koli Patels are Chauhan,

Makwana The Makwana are a Hindu and Muslim community of Gujarat. The Makwana Muslims are now mainly small peasant proprietors found in north Gujarat. According to their traditions, their ancestor Bapuji, the son of Harpal Makwana, converted to Islam. He ...

and

Rathod Rathore or Rathod may refer * Rathore dynasty, a dynasty of India * Rathore (Rajput clan), a clan of Rajput caste * Rathore (surname), an Indian surname * Rathod (surname), an Indian surname See also * Rath (disambiguation) * Rather (disambiguat ...

. *

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 ...

s of Gujarat also use the Patel title as traditionally village headmen. *

Parsis The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

, who were biggest herdsman of the village adopted the title of Patel. *

Muslim 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 ...

s of Gujarat also use Patel as title who converted from

Hindu 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 ...

s and

Etymology

The Gujarati term ''paṭel'', along with its cognate Marathi terms ''pāṭel'' and ''pāṭīl'', are derived from the Prakrit word ''paṭṭaïl(l)a-'' "village headman", itself derived from the Sanskrit word ''paṭṭakila'' "tenant of royal land", a term first appearing in the ''Vetālapañcaviṃśatikā''.''
''

Geographical distribution

The surname historically originated in the Indian state of

, where it is amongst the most common of surnames. Today, the name is found across India, as well as in the

Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (ISO 15919, ISO: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are people of Indian descent who reside or originate outside of India (Including those that were directly under the British Raj). Acc ...

. In 2009, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' released a news article indicating that, in the United Kingdom, the surnames Patel and

Singh Singh ( IPA: ) is a title, middle name, or surname that means "lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it was later mandated in the late 17th century by Guru Gobind Si ...

now rank amongst native ones such as

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

and

Jones Jones or Joneses may refer to: People and fictional characters *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname * List of people with surname Jones, including fictional characters ** Justice Jones (disambiguation) ** Judge Jones (disambiguati ...

. With those who immigrated to Germany during British colonial rule in India,

Gujaratis The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They ...

used the variation "Pätel", with an umlaut, to better integrate with German society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel Agricultural castes Gujarati people Gujarati-language surnames Indian feudalism Koli people Koli titles Occupational surnames Social groups of Gujarat Surnames of Indian origin