Cherian

Cherian is a Syrian Christian surname of West Asian (Hebrew-Aramaic) origin, presumed to be a derivative of Zecharya (Zacharias or Zechariah) and a variant of Zacharias popular among Kerala Christians. The final -n is the Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix.

In India it is mostly found only as a given name although this trend is changing in the present generations, but in the United States and United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, it is also used as a family name among expatriate families from Kerala. [1] [2]

Origins

The generally accepted explanation is that this name is of Semitic (Hebrew-Aramaic) origin, presumed to be a derivative of Zecharya (Zacharias or Zechariah) and a variant of Zacharias. This is supported by the fact that Kerala was one of the chief centers for spice trading between the West and East and there was a historic Nasrani community with religious, linguistic, cultural and genetic connections to the Semitic and Middle East. The final -n is the Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix.

There is an alternative hypothesis suggesting an Armeninan origin for the name. This relies on the empirical observation that names ending with ian is highly probable to be an Armenian name. The original candidate Armenian name is Khatcherian which means “follower or son of the Cross”. This theory also takes support from the fact that there have been significant presence of Armenians in India, especially Chennai and Kolkata, who migrated to India to escape persecution from Turkey.[3]

Notable Cherians

  • Jayan K. Cherian, an Indian poet filmmaker living in USA
  • P. V. Cherian (1893 - 1969), an Indian physician, surgeon, politician and Governor (of Maharashtra)
  • Accamma Cherian (1909-1982), Indian freedom-fighter
  • Tara Cherian (1913 - 2000), an Indian social activist and politician, the first woman mayor of Madras city
  • Cherian Philip (born 1953), a politician in Kerala, consultant for Kairali TV and former chairman of KTDC

Fictional characters

References

  1. ↑ Names, Middle Names and Last Names among Syrian Christians, Nasrani.net
  2. ↑ Surname Origin - Cherian - Genealogy, FamilyEducation.com
  3. ↑ Kerala Christian Names Origin and English Equivalents
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