Gautam is a surname of Nepalese origin modified from the anterior surname Gotāmé and the original homeland of the surname identified as Gotamkot in western Nepal.

Origin

Due to religious prosecutions initiated by the

Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent The Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent mainly took place from the 13th to 17th centuries. Earlier Muslim conquests include the invasions into what is now modern-day Pakistan and the Umayyad campaigns in India in eighth century and res ...

, it is believed that Kāshidās - a learned scholar and versed in the four

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

, arrived in

Sinja The Sinja Valley is located in the Jumla District in Karnali Province, of Nepal. The valley was the ancient capital city of the Khasa Kingdom and is considered a historically significant place. The valley is also considered as the birthplace of ...

of the Khasa Kingdom from medieval

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 ...

around 12th century CE "to protect

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

" and was received with royal respect and honor by the King of

. Descendants of Kāshidās were given a land grant in Gotamkot of present-day western Nepal from where the surname originates. Kāshidās was a descendant of Ritubhadra, a learned

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

scholar in the ancient Indian city of Kanyakubja (

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

). An inscription in the

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

temple in

Dang Valley The Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal comprise several elongated river valleys in the southern lowland Terai part of the country. These tropical valleys are enclosed by the Himalayan foothills, viz the Mahabharat Range and the Sivalik Hills farther south ...

mentions in

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 ...

that Kāshidās arrived to

from Kanyakubja (

) with his disciples "to protect

" and was given royal respect and land grant by the

King.

Notable Nepali persons

* Atithi Gautam K. C, Nepalese singer * Atul Gautam, Nepalese musician *

Bamdev Gautam Bam Dev Gautam ( ne, बाम देव गौतम) is a Nepalese politician and the former Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal. A member of CPN (Unified Socialist), Gautam is a former Senior vice Chairman of Communist Party of N ...

, Former Deputy PM of Nepal *

Dhruba Chandra Gautam Dhruba Chandra Gautam ( ne, ध्रुवचन्द्र गौतम) is a Nepalese novel writer. He has authored over 60 stories and novels most of which addresses contemporary social issues. He is known as ''Akhyan Purush''(towering per ...

, Nepalese novelist *

Kalyan Gautam Kalyan Raj Gautam ( ne, कल्याण राज गौतम), better known as Dear Kalyan, is a Nepalese storyteller and radio jockey. His show ''Mero Katha'' was one of the most popular radio programs in Nepal during the late 1990s and ...

, Nepalese radio jockey *

Kul Gautam Kul Chandra Gautam is a distinguished diplomat, development professional, and a former senior official of the United Nations. Currently, he serves on the boards of several international and national organizations, charitable foundations and publi ...

, Former UN vice secretary general from Nepal * Rishikesh Gautam, Nepalese politician * Sanjay Gautam, Nepalese politician * Shiv Raj Gautam, Nepalese politician * Sudarshan Gautam, Nepalese mountaineer * Tirtha Gautam, Nepalese politician

References

{{Chhetri communities Nepali-language surnames Hindu surnames