Desai

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title: "Desai" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["indian-feudalism", "surnames-of-indian-origin", "surnames-of-hindu-origin", "gujarati-language-surnames", "marathi-language-surnames"] description: "Indian title" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desai" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Indian title ::

Desai () is an Indian administrative, princely or honorary title and surname.

Etymology

The word is derived from the Sanskrit deśa (country) and svāmī (lord).

Desai as a title

Desai was a title given to lords, and others who were granted a village or group of villages in Maharashtra, and North Karnataka. The title Desai should not be associated with a particular religion or caste, though a Desai would use the title of Rao or Rai or Raje as a suffix to his name denoting he is a king of those villages, The "Desai" title was given by Maratha emperors, Mughal emperors and by the Deccan sultanates.

• In Maharashtra, the title Desai is conferred to feudal lords and village council members. Most of them are either Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, Deshastha Brahmins, Karhade Brahmins, Prabhus (CKP- Davane Prabhus and Pathare Prabhus), Lingayats, Patidars and Marathas.

• Desais were the rulers of Kudal (Sindhudurg) in Maharashtra.

• Desai, or a loftier compound, was a rare title for rulers of a few princely states, notably - Raja Sar Desai in the Maratha Savantvadi State from 1627 until the adoption of "Raja Bahadur" in 1763.

• Desai Shri in Patdi (the former Viramgam State), in Eastern Kathiawar, where Desai was also the name of the ruling family, which belongs to the Desai clan of Kadwa Patidar.

• In Gujarat, Desai is honoured to Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahimins, Vaishnav Vanik and Rabari and Patidars caste people. The title was also given to feudal lords and revenue collectors

Desai as a surname

Desai as a surname is used by Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, Deshastha Brahmin, Karhade Brahmin, Marathas, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu, Pathare Prabhu, Panchkalshi, Anavil Brahmin, Khedaval Brahmin, Rabari, Leva Patel, Patidar, and Jain communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Lingayat communities of Karnataka.

People with the surname

Notable people with the surname Desai include:

Public officers

• Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai – politician; former Prince of Dhasa
• Babubhai Desai – Ex MLA of kankrej
• Kantilal Thakoredas Desai – second Chief Justice of Gujarat
• Kevit Desai – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education state department for Vocational and Technical Training, Kenya
• Krishna Desai – CPI politician
• Morarji Desai – Prime Minister of India (1977–79)
• Mahadev Desai – Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi
• S. T. Desai – first Chief Justice of Gujarat
• Haridas Viharidas Desai – Diwan of Junagadh state (1883–95)
• Prakash K. Desai – Air Marshal of Indian Air Force

Arts, sciences and business

• Anita Desai – Author; mother of author Kiran Desai
• Bhairavi Desai – American labor union leader
• Bindu Desai – Actress
• C. D. Desai – Banker and philatelist
• Ebrahim Desai – Islamic scholar
• Kiran Desai – Author; 2006 Man Booker Prize winner
• Kishwar Desai – Author
• Manmohan Desai – Director
• Mavjibhai Desai – Vice Chairman of Banas Dairy
• Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai – economist
• Mihir A. Desai – American economist and professor at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School
• Nishtha Desai – Scholar and children's rights activist
• Nitin Chandrakant Desai – Art director
• Padma Desai – American economist and professor at Columbia University
• Ramanlal Desai – Gujarati writer
• Ranjit Desai – Marathi writer
• Salil Desai – Author
• Sapan Desai – American physician; publisher and discredited researcher
• Umedram Lalbhai Desai – Physician
• Jhinabhai Desai – Gujarati poet and author better known by his pen name Snehrashmi, educator, political leader and Indian independence activist
• Usha Desai – Medical doctor and environmentalist
• Prasannavadan Bhagwanji Desai – Demographer, economist and Indian independence activist
• K. B. Desai – Medical doctor, Indian independence activist and political leader
• Roopali Desai – American federal judge

Culture and sports

• Anang Desai - Indian actor
• Anoop Desai – American singer
• Gunwant Desai – Indian cricketer
• K. R. Desai – Cricketer; philanthropist; educator
• Prachi Desai – Actress
• Ramakant Desai – Cricketer; India's first fast bowler
• Rashami Desai – Actress
• Ravish Desai – Actor
• Renu Desai – Actress
• Satyaki "Sattu" Desai – Environmental officer
• Sean Desai – American football coach; Defensive Coordinator for the Chicago Bears
• Subhash Desai – Shiv Sena leader
• Tina Desai – Actress
• Rajdeep Sardesai – News anchor

References

References

1. [https://archive.today/20120710074800/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3advanced?dbname=hobson&query=Desai&matchtype=exact&display=utf8 Also, "Mahr. ''deśāī''; in W. and S. India a native official in charge of a district, often held hereditarily; a petty chief." Henry Yule, ''Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases'', pp. 292, 306.]
2. (22 February 2020). "How well do you know about the origins of some Indian Occupational Surnames?". TheBizdom.
3. "Desai Name Meaning & Desai Family History at Ancestry.com®".
4. Raj Kumar. (2003). "Essays on Modern India". Discovery Publishing House.
5. (1998). "Saraswats in Goa and Beyond". Murgaon Mutt Sankul Samiti.
6. Syed Siraj ul Hassan. (1989). "The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1". Asian Educational Services.
7. Sandhya Gokhale. (2008). "The Chitpavans: Social Ascendancy of a Creative Minority in Maharashtra, 1818-1918". Shubhi Publications.
8. V. D. Divekar. (1993). "South India in 1857 War of Independence". Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust.
9. (1984). "SAWANTS OF WADI Coastal Politics in 18th and 19th Centuries". S. K. Mhamai.
10. (1909). "Anthropological Society of Bombay". Anthropological Society of Bombay.
11. (1997). "Numismatic Digest". Numismatic Digest.
12. Laura Spinney. (June 2017). "Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World". Random House.
13. Kumar Suresh Singh. (2004). "People of India: Maharashtra, Part 1". Popular Prakashan.
14. (1995). "The Scheduled Castes, Volume 21". Oxford University Press.
15. Rashmi H. Desai. (1963). "Indian immigrants in Britain". Oxford University Press.
16. Bela Bhatia. (1992). "Lush Fields and Parched Throats: The Political Economy of Groundwater in Gujarat". UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER).
17. Bela Bhatia. (1992). "Lush Fields and Parched Throats: The Political Economy of Groundwater in Gujarat". UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER).
18. Donald S. Rothchild. (1973). "Racial Bargaining in Independent Kenya: A Study of Minorities and Decolonization". Institute of Race Relations London.
19. (1984). "Studies in Indian place names, Volume 4". Geetha Book House.

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