Pillai or Pillay is a surname found among the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-speaking people of India and

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 ...

Origin

According to epigraphic records, Pillai is an ancient title that was used as a suffix that goes back to the Tamil

Sangam Era The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

and was given to junior members of the royal family. Originally a title meaning "royal child", it came to be given to administrators of temples; often holding large estates on behalf of the latter.Mark de Lannoy,Kulasekhara Perumals of Travancore, Page 202 Early English records also address these hereditary ruling chiefs as the princes of Kerala ranking below the monarch. The most well known are the Pillais of the Eight Noble Houses, the

Ettuveettil Pillamar The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) were nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore in present-day Kerala state, South India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the Ettara ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

. Tamil inscriptions define the direct meaning of Pillai as "Child of King" (prince), denoting nobility. The title occur both as a single name or as a

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

to the name. This title has been in traditional use by the communities such as the Nairs and the

Vellalars Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily to refer to various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Vellalar are members of several ...

also some Brahmins

People

Notable people with this surname or its variants include: * Ashan Pillai (born in Sri Lanka, 1969), British violist and academic *

A. R. Pillai Ayyappan Pillai Raman Pillai (26 December 1879–7 September 1938), also known as A. Raman Pillai or A. R. Pillai, was an Indian expatriate who worked for India's freedom in Germany, journalist, writer and a book publisher in Göttingen in Ger ...

(1879–1938), Indian freedom fighter *

Anton Sebastianpillai Anton Sebastianpillai FRCP (23 January 1945 – 4 April 2020), was a British historian, author (writing as Anton Sebastian) and consultant geriatrician, of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. Biography He had his primay and secondary education at St Syl ...

(1944/5–2020), author and consultant geriatrician * Ananda Ranga Pillai (1709–1761),

dubash Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language. The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interp ...

in the service of

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the ...

Ariranga Pillay Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay (Tamil: ''அரி ரங்க கோவிந்தசாமி பிள்ளை''; born 14 June 1945) was the chief justice of Mauritius from 1996 until 2007, when he was succeeded by Y. K. J. Yeung Sik Yuen. ...

(born 1945), former Chief Justice and briefly Acting President of Mauritius *

Arumuka Navalar Arumuka Navalar (; 18 December 1822 – 5 December 1879) was a Sri Lankan Shaivite Tamil language scholar, polemicist, and a religious reformer who was central in reviving native Hindu Tamil traditions in Sri Lanka and India. Navalar's bir ...

, born as Kandarpillai Arumugapillai, a Sri Lankan Hindu reformer *

Bastiampillai Anthonipillai Thomas Bastiampillai Anthonipillai Thomas or "Father Thomas" (7 March 1886 – 26 January 1964) was a Roman Catholic priest of the congregation of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and founder of the Rosarians Order. Early life and education Tho ...

(1886–1964),

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 ...

priest and founder of Rosarians Order *

Bastiampillai Deogupillai Right Reverend Jacob Bastiampillai Deogupillai (9 April 1917 – 25 April 2003) was a Ceylon Tamil priest and Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. Early life and family Deogupillai was born on 9 April 1917 in Karampon on the island of Velanaitiv ...

(1917–2003),

Roman Catholic bishop *

B. Ravi Pillai B. Ravi Pillai (born 2 September 1953) is a Dubai-based Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder and chairman of the RP Group. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$2.5 billion. Early life Ravi Pillai was born on 2 ...

(born 1953), Indian entrepreneur *

C. W. Thamotharampillai Cirupitty Wyravanathar Thamotharampillai (Pillai) ( ta, சி. வை. தாமோதரம்பிள்ளை; 12 September 1832 – 1 January 1901)), sometimes referred to by the initials as C. Y., devoted his energies to the work of editing ...

(1832–1901), publisher of ancient Tamil texts *

Candice Pillay Candice Pillay (born June 10, 1981) is a South African singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. She is best known for writing songs for artists including Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Calvin Harris, Christina Aguilera, Dr. Dre, Eminem, ScHoolboy Q, Why ...

(born 1981), singer and songwriter *

Changampuzha Krishna Pillai Changampuzha Krishna Pillai (Malayalam: ചങ്ങമ്പുഴ കൃഷ്ണപിള്ള; 10 October 1911 – 17 June 1948) was a celebrated Malayalam poet from Kerala, India, known for his elegy ''Ramanan'' (Malayalam: രമണന ...

, Malayalam poet *

Chempakaraman Pillai Chempakaraman Pillai, alias Venkidi, (15 September 1891 – 26 May 1934) was an Indian-born political activist and revolutionary. Born in Thiruvananthapuram, to Tamil Pillai parents, he left for Europe as a youth, where he spent the rest of hi ...

(1891–1934), freedom fighter from Travancore of Tamil descent * Chinna Migapillai, 17th century

feudal lord An overlord in the Kingdom of England, English Feudalism in England, feudal system was a lord of the manor, lord of a manor who had Subinfeudation, subinfeudated a particular Manorialism, manor, Estate in land, estate or fief, fee, to a Leaseho ...

and rebel leader from the

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

Devasahayam Pillai Devasahayam Pillai (born Neelakanta Pillai and baptized as Lazarus; 23 April 1712 – 14 January 1752) was an Indian layman and martyr of the Catholic Church.

(1712–1752), Indian court official, controversial convert to Christianity * Dhanraj Pillay (born 1968), Indian hockey player *

G. P. Pillai Govindan Parameswaran Pillai (2 February 1864–21 May 1903), also known as Barrister G. P. Pillai, was a freedom fighter, social reformer, barrister, journalist, and publisher. He established the first English language newspaper in South Ind ...

(1864–1903), barrister, established the first English newspaper in South India *

G. Parameswaran Pillai G. Parameswaran Pillai (1890–1963), also known as "GP", was the Chief Secretary and Officiating '' Dewan'' of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom in pre-Independent India. He started his career as a lawyer, and later became Judge of the Court of ...

(1890–1963), Dewan of Travancore *

Gerald Pillay Gerald John Pillay (born 21 December 1953) is a South African theologian and ecclesiastical historian. He was Vice Chancellor and Rector of Liverpool Hope University in England from 2003 until the end of 2022. Early life and education Pillay wa ...

(born 1953), South African theologian and ecclesiastical historian,

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

and Rector of Liverpool Hope University. *

Gooty Kesava Pillai Diwan Bahadur Pattu Kesava Pillai (8 October 1860 – 28 March 1933) was an Indian journalist, politician and activist of the Indian Independence movement. Early life Pattu Kesava Pillai was born in a Vellalar family of Pattu in North A ...

(1860–1933), Indian journalist and freedom-fighter. Delegate from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh at the first session of the Indian National Congress. *

Jerry Pillay Jerry Pillay is a Reformed pastor, member of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa, professor of theology at the University of Pretoria where he heads the Department of History and Ecclesiology and is Dean of the Faculty of Theology a ...

(born 1965), South African Reformed pastor, theologian and General Secretary of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

. * K. C. Pillai (1900–1970), Bishop-at-large of the Indian Orthodox Church, Antiochean Succession,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(Madras), India *

K. Appavu Pillai K. Appavu Pillai (born 15 April 1911) is an Indian politician and former Member of the State Legislature (India), Member of the Legislative Assembly of Hosur. K. Appavu Pillai, popularly known as K.A.P, was an idealist and farsighted visionar ...

(1911–1973), Indian politician *

K. C. Sreedharan Pillai K C Sreedharan Pillai (1920–1985) was an Demographics of India, Indian statistician who was known for his works on multivariate analysis and probability distributions. Pillai studied at the University of Travancore in Trivandrum. He graduat ...

(1920–1985), Indian mathematician *

K. Perumal Pillai K. Perumal Pillai was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as an Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Kanyakumari constituency in Kanyakumari district ...

, Indian politician *

K. Thamboosamy Pillay K. Thamboosamy Pillay (Tamil: தம்புசாமி பிள்ளை) was a prominent Malaysian of Tamil origin during the pre-independence years. He was considered the leader of the Tamil community. He was a wealthy businessman, tin miner ...

(1850–1902), a prominent member of the Tamil community in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai (27 July 1876 – 26 September 1954) was a Tamil language, Tamil poet born to Sivadhanu Pillai and Aadhilakshmi. He was born in the southern district of Tamil Nadu in Kanniyakumari district in a village called Th ...

(1876–1954), Indian freedom fighter, poet *

L. D. Swamikannu Pillai Diwan Bahadur Lewis Dominic Swamikannu Pillai CIE, ISO (b. 11 February 1865 - d. 10 September 1925) was an Indian politician, historian, linguist, astronomer and administrator who served as the second President of the Madras Legislative Counci ...

(1865–1925), Indian astronomer, Speaker of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Assembly *

M. M. Pareed Pillay Manadath Mohammed Pillay Pareed Pillay is an Indian judge, jurist and lawyer who served as the 15th Chief Justice of Kerala. He was also appointed the first Chairman of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission in 1998 by the Governor of Kerala. ...

, former Chief Justice of Kerala *

M. P. Narayana Pillai Malikathazhathu Pulluvazhy Narayana Pillai ( ml, എം.പി. നാരായണപിള്ള) (22 November 1939 – 19 May 1998), affectionately known as Nanappan among his friends, was a journalist and writer of Malayalam literature. Know ...

(1939–1998), Malayalam writer *

M. K. Mackar Pillay Manadath Kunju Mackar Pillay (1880 – 1966) was an Indian industrialist, banker, philanthropist, and politician who served in the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly. He was a leading cashew and lemongrass exporter, and founder of the eponymous Mac ...

(1880–1966), Indian industrialist and politician * Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai (1855–1897), eminent writer in

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

; his poem " Niraarum Kadal Udutha" is the official

Tamil Anthem Tamil Thai Valthu (; ) is the state anthem of Tamil Nadu. The song was written by Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai, and composed by M. S. Viswanathan. Ever since the Tamil Nadu government under M. Karunanidhi issued an order on 23 November 197 ...

Maraimalai Adigal Maraimalai Adigal (15 July 1876 – 15 September 1950) was a Tamil orator and writer and father of Pure Tamil movement. He was a fervent Tamizh Saivite. He wrote more than 100 books, including works on original poems and dramas, but most famous ...

(Nagai Vedachalam Pillai, 1876–1950), eminent

orator and writer, started Pure Tamil movement Tanittamil Iyakkam * Marimutthu Pillai (1712–1787), musician * Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725–1764), Indian soldier and administrator also known as

Muhammed Yusuf Khan Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725 – 15 October 1764), was the commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army . He was born in a Tamil Vellalar family in a village called Panaiyur in British India, what is now in Nainarkoil Taluk, Raman ...

Murali Pillai K. Muralidharan Pillai ( ta, முரளி பிள்ளை; born 30 October 1967), better known as Murali Pillai, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parlia ...

, Singaporean politician of Indian descent *

Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai N. S. Parameswaran Pillai or Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai (1931–2010) is the co-founder of Indian Coffee Houses in Kerala with T. K. Krishnan. He is also the author of a history of Indian Coffee House, a worker cooperative. Historian of ...

(born 1931), leader of Indian Coffee House movement *

Naraina Pillai Narayana Pillai was a social entrepreneur and businessman, who spent most of his life in Singapore during the colonial period. Of Tamil origins, he greatly contributed to the Tamil community in Singapore. Prior to 1819, Pillai (also spelled Nar ...

, social entrepreneur and businessman * Navanethem Pillay (born 1941), South African judge, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights *

Nisha Pillai Nisha Pillai is an Indian journalist based in London. She is a main news anchor for BBC World News. Early life Pillai was born in Kolkata, India, and grew up in Mumbai. When she was 14, her family moved to London, England. She attended a girls ...

, Indian-born journalist and BBC

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

P. Govinda Pillai P. Govinda Pillai (23 May 1926 – 22 November 2012) was a veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and ideologue from Kerala, India, and former editing, Chief Editor of Deshabhimani. Biography Pillai was born on 23 May 1926 in ...

(1926–2012), Communist Party of India leader *

P. K. Narayana Pillai P. K. Narayana Pillai (21 March 1879 – 10 February 1936), better identified as Sahitya Panchanan P. K. Narayana Pillai, was an Indian literary critic, essayist, scholar, grammarian and poet of Malayalam language. One of the pioneers of literar ...

, scholar of Sanskrit and Malayalam literature * Palani Subramaniam Pillai (1908–1962), Carnatic music percussionist *

Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai Paravoor Thazhathuveettil Krishnan Kartha Narayana Pillai (25 March 1890 – 23 June 1971) was an Indian freedom fighter during the British Raj in India and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) which fought against the British ...

(1890–1971), Indian freedom fighter *

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai Raja Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (15 July 188527 July 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the chief minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' o ...

(1885–1970), Second Chief Minister of unified Kerala, Communist leader *

Periyapillai Periyapillai ( ta, பெரியபிள்ளை) (died 1582) was of one of the Aryacakravarti rulers of Jaffna kingdom who followed in the chaotic period after the death of Cankili I(1519–1561). Some sources claim that he deposed the Cank ...

, 16th century king of the

Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai (or Muthu Irulappa Pillai), son of Sundra Pandya Pillai, of the 18th century was a minister of Ramnad during the reign of Muthuramalinga Sethupathy. As the king was a minor, just an infant, the pradani took over the ...

, 18th-century minister of Ramnad during the reign of Muthuramalinga Sethupathy * Prem Nath Pillai (born 1982),

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

-based filmmaker and editor *

R. Balakrishna Pillai Keezhoote Raman Balakrishna Pillai (8 March 1935 – 3 May 2021) was an Indian politician who served as minister of the state of Kerala in India, holding portfolios such as Transport and Electricity. He was a member of the Kerala Legislative A ...

(1935–2021), State minister in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Rajmohan Pillai J. Rajmohan Pillai (born 12 May 1964) is an Indian businessman, and is currently the chairman of Beta Group. Early life Rajmohan Pillai was born in Kollam, Kerala, India, and educated in the state capital Trivandrum. He gained management expe ...

(born 1964), Indian businessman *

Rhea Pillai Rhea Pillai is an Indian model known for her works in television and advertising. In 2003, she was honored as the "Woman of the Year", along with Raveena Tandon, Anoushka Shankar and Ritu Beri, on International Women's Day for social service. ...

, Indian model * Simone Ashwini Pillai, British Actress of Tamil native * *

Sreekanteswaram Padmanabha Pillai Sreekanteswaram G. Padmanabha Pillai (1865–1946), popularly known as ''Sreekanteswaram'', was a lexicographer and scholar best known for his Malayalam dictionary ''Sabdatharavali''. Life Padmanabha Pillai was born on 1865Kathakali, the Art o ...

(1864–1946), lexicographer * Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–1950), Indian mathematician * Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai (1878–1916), journalist and political activist. Translated Karl Marx's biography into Malayalam *

T. S. Ramasamy Pillai T. S. Ramaswami Pillai ( ta, டி எஸ் இராமஸ்வாமி பிள்ளை) (8 June 1918 – 15 June 2006) was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and former Member of the Legislative Assembly. He was elected to the Tr ...

(1918–2006), Freedom-fighter, politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly (India) *

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 7 shor ...

(1912–1999), Malayalam author * Trevin Callistus Bastiampillai (born 1985),

Sri Lankan Canadian Sri Lankan Canadians refers to people from Sri Lanka who have arrived and settled in Canada. Among these immigrants include members from the Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Malay and Burgher ethnicities. According to the 2021 census there are 136,240 ...

cricketer *

Vella Pillay Vella Pillay (8 October 1923 – 29 July 2004) was a South African international economist and a founding member of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement. He was a member of the South African Communist Party and coordinated the party's overseas ac ...

(1923-2004), South African economist and political activist *

V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai (born 20 October 1949) is the vice-chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University and provost of Somaiya Vidyavihar, Pillai concurrently serving as the chancellor of the ICFAI University, Tripura. He was president of Mew ...

(born 1949), current Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University ( IGNOU) *

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai ''V.'' is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whol ...

(1872–1936), Indian freedom fighter, popularly known as V.O.C. and as Kappalottiya Tamilan *

Venkatarama Ramalingam Pillai Venkatarama Ramalingam, or V. Ramalingam Pillai (19 October 1888 – 24 August 1972),Indian surnames