The Nayak is a historic Indian title conferred on

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also be ...

s, who were

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

s of feudal states in the Middle Ages. Today it is also a surname. Nayaks are mostly

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and few

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

, who follow

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

respectively.

As a surname

Today, the surname ''Nayak'' is used by various castes and

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

across India. Mostly they belong from forward class and mainly follows

and

. * Nayak, or Naik is a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

used by

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

. The

Princely State A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

Jawhar Jawhar is a city and a municipal council in Palghar district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division of India. Jawhar was a capital city of the erstwhile Koli princely state of Jawhar. Situated in the ranges of the Western Ghats, Jawhar i ...

was founded by a

Nayak

Jayaba Mukne Jayaba Mukne or Jaideoraoji Mukne also known as ''Paupera'' and ''Jagappa Nayak Mukne'' was first Koli ruler of Jawhar State. He also spelled as ''Jayaba Mukne'', ''Jayaba Mookna'', ''Jayab Mookney'', ''Joya Mookney'', ''Jayab Mukne'', ''Jayaba ...

around 1300. The Maval region was known as Koli country of fifty two

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ...

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

. Each valley was controlled by a

Nayak and the Sirnayak, or head chief, lived at

Junnar Junnar (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒunːəɾ is a city in the Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city has history dating back to the first millennium. The nearby fort of Shivneri was the birthplace of Maratha king Chatrap ...

, and presided over the gotarni, or caste council. the

Fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of Sinhagad was built and ruled by

chief Nag Nayak who resisted the Mughal

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

Muhammad bin Tughluq for eight months. the Kolis of Maharashtra revolted against Mughal ruler

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

under their Koli chief Khemirao Sirnaik and in 1769, Kolis revolted against Peshwa of

under their Koli Naik Javji Bamble and broken the peace of Konkan and in 1798, Kolis challenged the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

under their Koli Naik Ramji Naik Bhangria who was father of freedom fighter Raghoji Bhangare. * In Punjab and Chandigarh, the surname Nayak is used by

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

people who follow

and are known as kshathriya in their societies. * In

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

and West Bengal, The Nayak is used by

people who follow

. * Naik was another Name of Banjara Tribe of India. The Naik/Nayak surname is generally used by Banjaras/ Lambani/

Labana Lubana (also spelled Lubana, Labana, Lavana, Lubhana; ) is a merchant and transportation community in India engaged in maritime trade and land trade which includes trading and transportation of goods like saltpetre, silk, diamonds, etc. In t ...

throughout

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Banjaras can also be described as Naik in Uttar Pradesh. Head of Banjara village/Tanda is called Naik. Some notable Banjaras with the Naik surname are

Vasantrao Naik Vasantrao Phulsing Naik (1 July 1913 – 18 August 1979) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1963 until 1975. To this date, he remains as the longest-serving Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Also, he had a c ...

and

Sudhakarrao Naik Sudhakarrao Rajusing Naik (21 August 1934 – 10 May 2001) was an Indian politician from Indian National Congress party who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 25 June 1991 until 22 February 1993 following the communal riots. He had g ...

. *In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, other versions of the surnames exists such as Naidu. Used by people belonging to Kapu, Kamma, Telaga and

Balija Balija is a caste of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. Origins Variations of the name in use in the medieval era were ''Balanja'', ''Bananja'', ''Bananju'', ''Banajiga'' and ''Banijiga'', with probable co ...

. In the north of Tamil Nadu, the title Naicker and Nayagar are used by the Tamil speaking Vanniyars while in the south of Tamil Nadu, the Telugu castes such as

, Kamma and the Gollas use the Naicker title. Also in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

the Naik surname is adopted as a surname by several communities including Bedar. * The Muslim

Siddis of Karnataka The Siddis of Karnataka ( kn, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು) (also spelled Siddhis) are an ethnic group inhabiting India. Members are descended from Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa that were brought to the Indian sub ...

, use the surname Nayaka which they received as a title from the kings of

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...

. *In

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

it is used by some subcastes of the

Vokkaliga Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community, or a group of closely-related castes, from the Indian state of Karnataka. They are also present in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. As ...

Namadhari Naik Namadhari Naik or Halepaika is a Hindu Kshatriyahttps://books.google.co.in/books?id=Xcpa_T-7oVQC&pg=PA229&dq=hale+paika&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXw-Gt69L6AhWHR2wGHUpxAboQ6AF6BAgGEAM#v=onepage&q=hale ...

communities. It is also a common surname amidst a section of Makkalasantana following a sect of parivara Bunt (community) and the Nayak/Bedar community. * In Maharashtra the surname Nayak and Naik is used by

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the co ...

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed a ...

s, CKPs,

Saraswat Brahmin The Saraswat Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins, who are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. The word ''Saraswat'' is de ...

and

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

communities. * In Tamil Nadu, members of the

Vanniyar The Vanniyar, also spelled Vanniya, formerly known as the Palli, are a Dravidian community or '' jāti'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. From the 19th century, peasant castes typically classified under Shudra ca ...

caste are found in the districts of Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, and Chengalpattu. They use the Naicker and Nayagar as a surname or title. Also in Tamil Nadu, members of the Jakkama clan use Nayakkar, Naicker and Nayagar as a surname or title.

References

{{Reflist Indian surnames Titles in India

As a surname

See also

References