Nayak (title)

Nayaka is a historic Indian title conferred on Sardars, who were governors of feudal states in the Middle Ages. Today it is also a surname.

As a title

The Nayaka title was given by Vijayanagara rulers to their feudal subject rulers, who later established independent Nayaka kingdoms after the downfall of the Vijayanagara Empire in South India.[1]
Nayaka title was conferred to the Hindu Sardars by rulers of Maratha Empire.[2]

Today, the surname Nayaka is used by various castes and ethnic groups across India.[3]

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Nayaka surname is adopted as surname by several tribal communities including, Bedar, Lambadis, Sugali, or Banjara.[4]
The Muslim Siddis of Karnataka, use the surname Nayaka which they received as title from Bijapur Kings.[5]
In Maharashtra the surname Nayak is used by Marathas, CKPs, Chitpavan Brahmins, and Deshastha Brahmin communities.[6]
In Tamil Nadu, members of the Vanniyar caste use Nayakkar, Naicker and Nayagar as a surname or title. [7]
In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, other versions of the surnames such as Naidu and Naicker are used by people belonging to Bedar Valmiki, Kapu, Balija, Golla, Telaga, and Kamma castes.[8]

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.
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.
Anupama Rao (2009). The Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India. University of California Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780520257610.
Chockalingam Joe Arun. Constructing Dalit Identity. p. 43. ISBN 9788131600818.
A. Vijay Kumari. Social Change Among Balijas: Majority Community of Andhra Pradesh. M D Publications. p. 89. ISBN 9788175330726.

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