Sinha is a Sanskrit term which originates in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and is common in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, covering

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

. It comes from a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word meaning "

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

" or "brave person".

Usage

Indian subcontinent

In India, Sinha is used as a surname by the Bengali Kayasthas (also spelt ''Singha''), Haryanvis , Punjabis and the

Kayastha Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the C ...

s of the Hindi Belt. In Sri Lanka, the term 'Sinha' (or Siha / Sinhe / Singhe / Singha / Singho) have commonly been used by the

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

(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 in the c ...

, giving the meaning 'Lion's blood'. The word Simhmam (or Singam / Singham / Singhai / Singai) is the

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

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 ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

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

Notable persons with the surname Sinha

* Tapan Sinha, Indian film director, who worked both in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

Bidya Sinha Saha Mim Bidya Sinha Saha Mim is a Bangladeshi actress and model. She made her debut in 2008 appearing in Amar Ache Jol directed by Humayun Ahmed and produced by Impress Telefilm Limited. Career Mim participated in ''Lux Channel I Superstar'' in 2007. S ...

, Bangladeshi film actress *

Manoj Sinha Manoj Sinha (born 1 July 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the 2nd and the current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railway ...

, 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir *

Mala Sinha Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...

, Indian film actress *

Kaliprasanna Sinha Kaliprasanna Sinha ( bn, কালীপ্রসন্ন সিংহ; 23 February 1841 – 24 July 1870), well known by his pen name Hootum Pyancha, was a Bengali author, playwright, and philanthropist. His most famous work was the translatio ...

, Bengali language author, playwright, and philanthropist *

Bikash Sinha Bikash Sinha (born 1945) is an Indian physicist, active in the fields of nuclear physics and high energy physics. Bikash Sinha was the director of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and the chairman of th ...

, Indian scientist *

Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha, KCSI, PC, KC, (24 March 1863 – 4 March 1928) was a prominent British India lawyer and statesman. He was the first Governor of Bihar and Orissa, first Indian Advocate-General of Bengal, first ...

, first Governor of Bihar and Orissa, first Indian Advocate-General of Bengal, first Indian to become a member of the Viceroy's executive Council and the first Indian to become a member of the British ministry * Paul Sinha, British quiz player and comedian *

Vidya Sinha Vidya Sinha (15 November 1947 – 15 August 2019) was an Indian actress who acted in Hindi films, most known for ''Rajnigandha'' (1974), ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975) and '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'' (1978). She started her career as a model and won the ...

, Indian film actress *

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency), Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he ...

, Indian film actor and politician * Sonakshi Sinha, Indian film actress * Shumona Sinha, Indian writer *

Surajit Chandra Sinha Surajit Chandra Sinha (1 August 1926 – 27 February 2002) was an Indian anthropologist. Background Born in Durgapur Upazila in the Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh), he was the eldest son of Maharaja Bhupendra Chandra Sinha of Susang, w ...

, Indian anthropologist * Anubhav Sinha, Indian film director *

Anugrah Narayan Sinha Anugrah Narayan Sinha (18 June 1887 – 5 July 1957), known as '' Bihar Vibhuti'', was an Indian nationalist statesman, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minis ...

Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar The Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar is the seniormost cabinet member of the state government who serves as the de-facto second head of the state. He is the second highest ranking executive authority of the state's council of ministers. The curr ...

* P. B. Illangasinghe, Sri Lankan notary public, wrote the initial version of Sri Lankan national anthem *

Susanthika Jayasinghe Deshabandu Kameradin Susanthika Jayasinghe ( si, සුසන්තිකා ජයසිංහ; Tamil: சுசந்திகா ஜயசிங்ஹ, born December 17, 1975) is a Sri Lankan retired sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and ...

, Sri Lankan athlete who won the Olympic silver medal for the 200m event * Martin Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan novelist who authored the greatest Sinhalese novel

Viragaya ''Viragaya'' (''Devoid of Passions'') is a 1956 novel written by Martin Wickremasinghe. The novel is considered an outstanding work in modern Sinhalese fiction due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique. The stor ...

.''

'' * Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan politician, prime minister of Sri Lanka four times

Places named after Sinha

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' si, සීගිරිය, ta, சிகிரியா/சிங்ககிரி, pronounced see-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla ...

, 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 a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

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

References