Rampersad also spelt as Ramprasad or Rampersaud is a surname common in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. It is of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

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 ...

origin, derived from the

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 ...

words Rama Prasada, and is not affiliated with any certain caste. 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 ...

it is used as a first name, but the descendants of the indentured laborers in the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an colonies used their fathers' first name as their

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. The name is common among Caribbean Hindus, but also as a result of ethnic mixing. It is also common in

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

as well. Many people of this surname have migrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as well.

Sundar Popo Sundar Popo HBM, born Sundarlal Popo Bahora (; 4 November 1943 – 2 May 2000) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian musician. He is credited as being the father of Chutney music, beginning with his 1969 hit ''Nana and Nani''. Early life Popo w ...

wrote a song called ''Rampersad''. Ramprasad is a common name among

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

dialect) speaking areas of the states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

of northern and eastern India. From 1834 to 1917, indentured plantation workers from this region were dispersed far and wide across the world including the Caribbean, Suriname, Fiji and Mauritius. Prasad in Sanskrit means gift from god (generally food). There has been a long practice of having a second name, in general, in northern India. For instance Bihari, Kumar, Chandra and Prasad. These are not family names, it's just that the name is in two parts. A person called Ras Bihari may name his son Gokul Prasad etc. Many a times the two words are written as one for example Ramchandra or Krishnakant. Although Sanskrit word is pronounced as Prasad, in Bhojpuri the pronunciation changes to Parsad or Persad.

People of this given name

Rampersad Parasram Rampersad Parasram (; born 27 May 1944) is the current Dharmacharya of Trinidad and Tobago and is a religious leader, medical doctor, and politician in Trinidad and Tobago. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Parasram, Rampersad 1944 births Living ...

People of this surname

Andre Rampersad Andre Jesse Rampersad (born 2 February 1995) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Canadian club HFX Wanderers. Club career Santa Rosa Rampersad spent eight years with TT Super League side FC Santa Rosa. In 201 ...

, a Trinidadian footballer *

Arnold Rampersad Arnold Rampersad (born 13 November 1941) is a biographer, literary critic, and academic, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to the US in 1965. The first volume (1986) of his ''Life of Langston Hughes'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer ...

, an American biographer and literary critic. *

Capil Rampersad Capil Rabin Rampersad (12 September 1960 – 13 April 2007 in Port of Spain) was a West Indies cricketer who played for Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island ...

, a West Indies cricketer. *

Kris Rampersad Kris Rampersad is a writer, researcher, lecturer, journalist, publisher, activist and advocate from Trinidad and Tobago. Biography Rampersad was born in rural Trinidad. She started her career as a freelance journalist at the San Fernando, Trinid ...

, a writer, researcher, lecturer, journalist, publisher, activist and advocate from Trinidad and Tobago.

References

{{Reflist Hindu given names Surnames