''Prabhu'' means ''master'' or ''prince'' in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Surname

Prabhu is a surname among

Gaud saraswat Brahmins 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 Brah ...

saraswat Brahmin Saraswat Brahmins are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir and Punjab in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. In places such as western and southern India, ...

s and other Brahmins across the

Konkan Coast The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east ...

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 ...

, from

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 ...

and

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 ...

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

As a title

"Prabhu" as a title is mainly found among

Saraswat Brahmin Saraswat Brahmins are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir and Punjab in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. In places such as western and southern India, ...

Karhade Brahmin Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Based on Veda and Ved ...

s and other Brahmins in

and

. Prabhu was a title accorded to the representative of the main village of the ''

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

'' (district) committee. The Prabhus may have also occupied official posts in the central administration, without prejudice to their original posts which were hereditary. Traditionally, a Prabhu was a village chief, Ministers, Zamindars, administrators, landlord and as such a master to the many agricultural labourers that were needed to cultivate his lands.

Notable people

Prabhu (actor) Prabhu Ganesan (born 27 December 1956), known professionally as Prabhu, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is the youngest son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan. Prabhu was one of the leading actors i ...

, Indian actor and film producer * Lakshman Prabhu, a minister in the court of the Silhara dynasty * Manohar Prabhu Parrikar (1955–2019), Indian politician *

Suresh Prabhu Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an Indian politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1996 to 2009, representing Rajapur in the Lok Sabha. He was also a member of the ''Rajya Sabha'', representing Andhra Pradesh ...

(born 1953), Indian politician *

Bolanthur Krishna Prabhu Bolanthur Krishna Prabhu was a Konkani Dramatist and Poet. His musical "Chandrahas" in 1912, is believed to be the first Konkani stage musical. Early life Krishna Prabhu born on 13 November 1882 at Bolanthur, Bantwal Taluk in to a Konkani speak ...

(1882–?), wrote ''Chandrahas Natak'' *

Gayathri Prabhu Gayathri Prabhu (born 1974) is an Indian novelist who currently lives in Manipal, Karnataka. Her most recent work is the novella ''Love in Seven Easy Steps'' (2021), preceded by ''Vetaal and Vikram: Riddles of the Undead'', published by HarperC ...

(born 1974), Indian novelist *

Girish Prabhu Girish Prabhu is an Indian composer, singer,and songwriter. He was awarded the title of ''Breakthrough Artist'' by World Space Radio for his debut album ''Zubaani'' in 2007. He is known for his albums ''Zubaani'', ''Lamhein'', ''Out of the blue'' ...

, Indian musician * (born 1954), Indian sprinter *

Jaideep Prabhu Jaideep Prabhu (born 12 October 1967 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India) is the Jawaharlal Nehru professor of business and enterprise at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, England. The Professorship was established by the Gov ...

(born 1967), professor * K. N. Prabhu (1923–2006) *

Mamta Prabhu Mamta Prabhu (Marathi:ममता प्रभू, born 1 March 1983) is a table tennis player from Maharashtra, India. She is an integral part of the Indian women Table Tennis team. As of July 2011, she is ranked 356rd in the overall Interna ...

(born 1983), table tennis player *

Manjiri Prabhu Manjiri Prabhu (born 30 September) is an Indian author, TV producer and filmmaker. She has been hailed as the 'Desi Agatha Christie' (Indian Agatha Christie) by the media and is acknowledged as being the first woman writer of mystery fiction in ...

(born 1964), Indian author, TV producer and filmmaker *

N. U. Prabhu Narahari Umanath Prabhu (25 April 1924 – 14 October 2022) was an Indian-American mathematician, known for his contributions to operation research, in particular queueing theory. He did not seek a Ph.D., however he guided a number of Ph.Ds. Care ...

(1924–2022), Indian-American mathematician * Neeraj Prabhu (born 1976), Indian-born former English cricketer * R.S. Prabhu (born 1950), Indian film producer and film director *

Rakesh Prabhu Rakesh Prabhu is an Indian cricketer. He made his Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county c ...

, Indian cricketer * S. R. Prabhu, Indian film producer *

Satyajit Prabhu Satyajit Prabhu is an Indian harmonium, synthesizer and keyboard player. He is a music arranger, composer who plays several instruments. He plays piano, accordion, trumpet, etc. on his keyboard for popular Bollywood classics. He is popularly kno ...

, music arranger, composer, and multi-instrumentalist *

Seetharam Prabhu NR Seetharam Prabhu (born 25 August 1964) is an Indian cricket umpire. He has officiated 28 First-class matches and 18 List A matches. He made his debut as an umpire in major domestic cricket on 12 November 1999 in a one-day match between Hary ...

(born 1964), Indian cricket umpire *

Shashi Prabhu Shashi Prabhu (born 1944) is an Indian Architect whose company, Shashi Prabhu & Associates, has designed sports complexes, hospitals, club houses and infrastructure projects (Like nuclear reactors)throughout India. Early life Prabhu was born i ...

(born 1944), Indian architect *

Srinivas Prabhu Srinivasa Prabhu is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry and a theatre artist in Karnataka, India. Some of the notable films of Srinivasa Prabhu as an actor include ''Bimba - Those 90 Minutes'' (2018), '' Kanooru Heggadithi'' (1999), Hudug ...

, actor *

Sunil Prabhu Sunil Prabhu is an Indian politician belonging to the Shiv Sena (UBT). He is a member of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He represents the Dindoshi Assembly Constituency. He was the 74th mayor of the city of Mumbai, the capital of ...

(born 1969), Indian politician * Vasant K. Prabhu, professor *

Vasant Prabhu Vasant Prabhu (19 January 1924 – 13 October 1968) was a music composer from Maharashtra who was a prolific composer of nonfilm Marathi songs known as 'bhaav-geete', and also worked in Marathi film industry. He is known for his collaboration wi ...

(died 1968)

References

{{surname Surnames Surnames of Indian origin Konkani-language surnames

Surname

As a title

Notable people

See also

References