Sinha is a Sanskrit term which originates in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and is common 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 ...

, Sri Lanka,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, covering

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

. It comes from a

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 ...

word meaning " lion" or "brave person".

Usage

Indian subcontinent

In India, Sinha is used as a surname by the

Bengali Kayastha A Bengali Kayastha is a Bengali Hindu who is a member of the Kayastha community. The historical caste occupation of Kayasthas throughout India has been that of scribes, administrators, ministers and record-keepers; the Kayasthas in Bengal, along ...

s (also spelt ''Singha''), Haryanvis , Punjabis and the Kayasthas of the

Hindi Belt The Hindi Belt, also known as the Hindi Heartland, is a linguistic region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern and western India where various Central Indo-Aryan languages subsumed under the term 'Hindi' (for example, by the ...

. In Sri Lanka, the term 'Sinha' (or Siha / Sinhe / Singhe / Singha / Singho) have commonly been used by the

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

(or Sinhala). When it comes to the term 'Sinhala' itself, the first part of the word, 'Sinha' stands for lion while 'la' or 'le' stands for

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

, giving the meaning 'Lion's blood'. The word Simhmam (or Singam / Singham / Singhai / Singai) is the Sri Lankan Tamil derivative. In northeast India, Sinha's held high positions as advisors during the times of the Mughal Empire. In northern and middle part of India as well as southern India Sinhraj/Sinharaj/Sinharaja or Rajasinha is also used, having the meaning Lion/Leo king. The more common surname

Singh Singh (IPA: ) is a title, middle name or surname that means " lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it eventually became a common surname adopted by different comm ...

in India has the same root. Jayasinghe and other surnames like 'Wijesinghe', 'Weerasingha', 'Edirisinghe', 'Singaiariyan' in Sri Lanka may also share this root.

Brazil

Sinha is also an unrelated name found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. "Sinhá moça" is a Brazilian colloquialism that may be translated "miss" or "missy".

Notable persons with the surname Sinha

Tapan Sinha Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...

, Indian film director, who worked both in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and Hindi cinema *

Bidya Sinha Saha Mim Bidya Sinha Saha Mim is a Bangladeshi actress and model. She made her debut in 2008 appearing in Amar Ache Jol directed by Humayun Ahmed and produced by Impress Telefilm Limited. Career Mim participated in '' Lux Channel I Superstar'' in 2007 ...

, Bangladeshi film actress *

Manoj Sinha Manoj Sinha (born 1 July 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the 2nd and the current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railway ...

, 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir * Mala Sinha, Indian film actress * Kaliprasanna Sinha, Bengali language author, playwright, and philanthropist * Bikash Sinha, Indian scientist * Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, first Governor of Bihar and Orissa, first Indian Advocate-General of Bengal, first Indian to become a member of the Viceroy's executive Council and the first Indian to become a member of the British ministry *

Paul Sinha Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show '' The Chase''. Early life Supriya ...

, British quiz player and comedian *

Vidya Sinha Vidya Sinha (15 November 1947 – 15 August 2019) was an Indian actress who acted in Hindi films, most known for '' Rajnigandha'' (1974), ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975) and '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'' (1978). She started her career as a model and won th ...

, Indian film actress *

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he was elected as Member of Parliam ...

, Indian film actor and politician *

Sonakshi Sinha Sonakshi Sinha (; born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. After working as a costume designer in independent films, she made her acting with the action film ''Dabangg'' in 2010, which won her the Filmfare Award for Be ...

, Indian film actress *

Shumona Sinha Shumona Sinha, also spelled ''Sumana Sinha''; (Bengali: সুমনা সিনহা, Calcutta, 27 June 1973), is a naturalised French writer born in Calcutta, West Bengal, India, who lives in France. In her interviews for the French media, ...

, Indian writer *

Surajit Chandra Sinha Surajit Chandra Sinha (1 August 1926 – 27 February 2002) was an Indian anthropologist. Background Born in Durgapur Upazila in the Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh), he was the eldest son of Maharaja Bhupendra Chandra Sinha of Susang, w ...

, Indian anthropologist *

Anubhav Sinha Anubhav Sinha (born 22 June 1965) is an Indian film director, producer and writer who works in Hindi films. He is notable for movies like '' Ra.One'', '' Tum Bin'', '' Dus'', '' Mulk'', '' Article 15'' and ''Thappad''. Early and personal life ...

, Indian film director * Anugrah Narayan Sinha,

Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar The Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar is the seniormost cabinet member of the state government who serves as the de-facto second head of the state. He is the second highest ranking executive authority of the state's council of ministers. The curr ...

* P. B. Illangasinghe, Sri Lankan notary public, wrote the initial version of Sri Lankan national anthem * Susanthika Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan athlete who won the Olympic silver medal for the 200m event *

Martin Wickramasinghe Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, (commonly known as Martin Wickramasinghe) ( si, මාර්ටින් වික්‍රමසිංහ) (29 May 1890 – 23 July 1976) was a Sri Lankan journalist and author. His books have been tran ...

, Sri Lankan novelist who authored the greatest Sinhalese novel

Viragaya ''Viragaya'' (''Devoid of Passions'') is a 1956 novel written by Martin Wickremasinghe. The novel is considered an outstanding work in modern Sinhalese fiction due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique. The stor ...

.''

'' *

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

, Sri Lankan politician, prime minister of Sri Lanka four times

Places named after Sinha

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' si, සීගිරිය, ta, சிகிரியா/சிங்ககிரி, pronounced see-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambull ...

, fortress in Sri Lanka; its short name derives from 'Sinha Giriya' meaning "The rocky place of lions" *

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, named from 'Singa Pura' / 'Sinha Pure' which means Lion City in Sanskrit, before 1819

References