Nayak (title)

Nayak or Naik is a historic title conferred to Sardars, Governors of the feudatories in medieval times.

As a title

Nayak title was given by Vijayanagara rulers to their feudatories, who later established themselves as independent kingdoms as Nayak kingdoms after the downfall of Vijayanagara Empire in South India.^[1]
Nayak title was given to the ministers of the Goan Kingdom.
Naik title was conferred to the Hindu Sardars by rulers of Maratha Empire.^[2]
Naik title was used by the Raja's of Phaltan State.
Even the British has adapted this title for their army personnel. Nayak was a title which was in force in Mysore especially for the army personnel of distinction.^[3]

Today, the surname Naik or Nayak is used by various castes and ethnic groups across India^[4] including by

In Assam some members of the aboriginal Keot(Kaibarta) community use Nayak as their surname.
In Goa and coastal parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra, members of the Saraswat Brahman community(SB, GSB, RSB, etc) use this surname.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Naik surname is adopted as surname by several tribal communities like Lambadis, Sugali, or Banjara.^[5]
The Muslim Siddis of Karnataka, use the surname Naik which they received as title from Bijapur Kings.^[6]
In Konkan coast of Goa and Maharashtra, Naik surname is used by Naik Marathas.^[7]
In Maharashtra Naik Surname is used by Marathas, CKP's, Chitpavan Brahmins, and Deshastha Brahmin communities.^[8]
In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, other versions of the surnames such as Naidu and Naicker are used by people belonging to Kapu, Balija, Telaga, and Kamma castes.^[9]
In Raigarh region of chhattisgarh surname is used by people belongs to aghariya cast also people of this group write Naik, Patel, Nayak and Choudhary.

↑ Kathleen Gough (2008). Rural Society in Southeast India. Cambridge University Press. p. 436. ISBN 9780521040198.
↑ Shivaji, the Great Maratha, Volume 1. Genisys Publishing. 2002. p. 116. ISBN 9788177552850.
↑ Anwar Haroon (2013). Kingdom of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan: Sultanat e Khudadad. Xlibris Corporation. p. 15. ISBN 9781483615363.
↑ Kumar Suresh Singh (2002). People of India: Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780195644449.
↑ Kumar Suresh Singh (1993). Tribal Ethnography, Customary Law, and Change. Concept Publishing Company. p. 249. ISBN 9788170224716.
↑ Shanti Sadiq Ali (1996). The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times. Orient Blackswan. p. 226. ISBN 9788125004851.
↑ Pra. Pā Śiroḍakara, H. K. Mandal (1993). People of India: Goa. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 225. ISBN 9788171547609.
↑ Anupama Rao (2009). The Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India. University of California Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780520257610.
↑ A.Vijay Kumari. Social Change Among Balijas: Majority Community of Andhra Pradesh. M D Publications. p. 89. ISBN 9788175330726.

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