Sinha is a surname which originates in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. The surname is commonly used by many communities including the

Bengali Kayastha Bengali Kayastha is a Bengali Hindu caste that originated from the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, and is one of the main subgroups of the Kayastha community. The historical caste occupation of Kayasthas throughout India has been that of ...

and the

Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha, also referred to as North-Indian Kayastha, is a subgroup of Hindus of the Kayastha community that are mainly concentrated in the Hindi Belt of North India. In Hindu texts and traditions, they are described to have de ...

s of the

Hindi Belt The Hindi Belt, also known as the Hindi Heartland or the Hindi speaking states, is a linguistic region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India where various Northern, Central, Eastern and Western Indo-Arya ...

, and is common in

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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It comes from a

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 ...

word meaning "

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

" or "brave person".

Usage

Indian subcontinent

, Sinha is commonly used as a surname by the Kayasthas of the

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

and Bihar. In Sri Lanka, the term 'Sinha' (or Siha / Sinhe / Singhe / Singha / Singho) have commonly been used by the Sinhalese (or Sinhala). When it comes to the term 'Sinhala' itself, the first part of the word, 'Sinha' stands for

while 'la' or 'le' stands for

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

, giving the meaning 'Lion's blood'. The word Simhmam (or Singam / Singham / Singhai / Singai) is the Sri Lankan Tamil derivative. In northeast India, ''Sinha''s held high positions as advisors during the times of the Mughal Empire. In northern and middle part of India as well as southern India Sinhraj/Sinharaj/Sinharaja or Rajasinha is also used, having the meaning Lion/Leo king. The more common surname Singh in India has the same root. Jayasinghe and other surnames like 'Wijesinghe', 'Weerasingha', 'Edirisinghe', 'Singaiariyan' in Sri Lanka may also share this root.

Brazil

Sinha is also an unrelated name found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. "Sinhá moça" is a Brazilian colloquialism that may be translated "miss" or "missy".

Notable persons with the surname Sinha

* Akhoury Purnendu Bhusan Sinha (b. 1928), Indian solid state chemist * Amara Sinha (c. AD 375), Sanskrit grammarian and poet * Anindya Sinha, Indian primatologist *

Anubhav Sinha Anubhav Sinha (born 22 June 1965) is an Indian film director, producer and writer known for his work in Hindi film industry. His films include ''Tum Bin'' (2001), ''Dus'' (2005) and ''Ra.One'' (2011) He also directed a series of socio-political ...

(b. 1965), Indian film director *

Anugrah Narayan Sinha Anugrah Narayan Sinha (18 June 1887 – 5 July 1957), known as ''Honorary titles of Indian leaders, Bihar Vibhuti'', was an Indian nationalist politician, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, wh ...

(1887–1957), Indian politician * Anupam Sinha, Raj Comics artist * Basawon Singh (Sinha) (1909–1989), Indian nationalist and freedom fighter * Bejoy Kumar Sinha (1909–1992), Indian revolutionary * Bikash Sinha (1945–2023) Indian physicist, Padma Bhusan awardee * Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, Bangladeshi film actress * Gayatri Sinha, Indian art critic and curator based in New Delhi * Gunjan Sinha (b. 1967), Indian-American entrepreneur and business executive * Indra Sinha (b. 1950), Indian/British author * Jagmohanlal Sinha (b. 1920), Indian lawyer, former judge * J. K. Sinha, Indian Police Service officer * Kaliprasanna Sinha (1841(?)–1870), also known as Hootum Pyancha, Bengali author, playwright, and philanthropist * Krityunjai Prasad Sinha, Indian theoretical physicist * Kumares C. Sinha, Indian-American engineer, researcher and educator *

Mala Sinha Mala Sinha (born Alda Sinha; 11 November 1936) is a former Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi, Bengali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading actress in Hindi Cinema in the 1960s a ...

(b. 1936), Indian actress * Man Mohan Sinha (b. 1933), Air Marshal I.A.F * Maniklal Sinha (1916–1994), Indian writer, novelist, historian, Archaeologist * Manjul Sinha, Indian television director * Manoj Sinha (b. 1959), Indian politician, Ghazipur * Mukul Sinha, Indian humans rights lawyer * Nirmal Chandra Sinha (1911–1997), Indian tibetologist and author * Paul Sinha (b. 1970) British Bengali stand-up comedian and general practitioner * Rameshwar Prasad Sinha (d. 1965), Indian politician * Ranjit Sinha (1953–2021), Indian police officer and former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation * Rashmi Sinha (b. 1960), Indian businesswoman, CEO of SlideShare * Ravindra Kumar Sinha (b. 1954), Indian biologist and environmentalist * Raja Radhika Raman Sinha (1937–2008), Indian civil engineer and a writer of Hindi literature * Ratan Kumar Sinha (b. 1951), Indian nuclear scientist and mechanical engineer * Sachidanand Sinha (b. 1937), Indian poet * Sandali Sinha (b. 1971), Indian actress * Sapna Sinha (b.1989), Indian-german AI researcher * Sarat Chandra Sinha (1914–2005), Indian writer and politician * Satyendra Narayan Sinha (1917–2006), Indian politician * Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha (1863–1928), Indian lawyer and statesman * Shantha Sinha, Indian professor and activist * Sharda Sinha (1952-2024), Indian folk and classical singer * Shatrughan Sinha (b. 1946), Indian actor and politician * Shumona Sinha (b. 1973), naturalised French writer born in Calcutta * Siddharth Sinha, Indian filmmaker * Smrity Sinha (b. 1989), Indian film actress *

Sonakshi Sinha Sonakshi Sinha (; born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. The daughter of actors and politicians Poonam Sinha, Poonam and Shatrughan Sinha, she has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Forbes Celebrity 100, Celebrity ...

, Indian actress and model * Sri Krishna Sinha (1887–1962), Indian nationalist known as Bihar Kesari, first Chief Minister of Bihar * Srinivas Kumar Sinha (1926-2016), Indian politician and military officer * Surajit Chandra Sinha (1926–2002), Indian anthropologist * Surendra Kumar Sinha (b. 1951), Bangladeshi lawyer and jurist * Tapan Sinha (1924–2009), Indian and Bengali film director, Dadasaheb Phalke and Padma Shri awardee * Tapan Sinha (admiral), Indian admiral * Tarak Sinha (1950–2021), Indian cricket coach * Toshi Sinha, Indian voice actress * U K Sinha (b. 1952), Indian businessman and politician * Vidya Sinha (b. 1947), Indian film and television actress * Yashwant Sinha (b. 1937), Indian politician * Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha (b. 1958), Indian diplomat

Fictional characters

* Baldev Sinha, Shanti Sinha, and Virender Sinha in ''Soldier'' (1998 Indian film) * Akash Sinha and Siddharth Sinha in ''Armaan'' (2003 film) * Shekher Sinha, Sandhaya Sinha, and Jai Sinha in '' Dil Jo Bhi Kahey...'' (2005 film) * Vikram Sinha in ''

Krrish ''Krrish'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language superhero action thriller film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan. The film stars Hrithik Roshan in a dual role, alongside Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Sharat Saxena and Man ...

'' (2006 film) * Professor Sinha's five daughters in '' Kahiin To Hoga'' (soap opera) * Siddharth Sinha in '' Dil Chahta Hai'' (2001 film)

Places named after Sinha

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' , , pronounced SEE-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeologic ...

, fortress in Sri Lanka; its short name derives from 'Sinha Giriya' meaning "The rocky place of lions" *

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, named from 'Singa Pura' / 'Sinha Pure' which means Lion City in Sanskrit, before 1819

References

{{reflist Surnames Surnames of Indian origin Bengali Hindu surnames