Sinha is a Sanskrit term and surname which originates in the Indian subcontinent. The surname is commonly used by the Kayasthas, typically the Bengali Kayasthas[1] and the Kayasthas of Bihar and Jharkhand[2] and is common in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "lion" or "brave person".[3][4]

Usage

Indian subcontinent

In India, Sinha is commonly used as a surname by the Kayasthas of the West Bengal and Bihar.[1][2][5]

In Sri Lanka, the term 'Sinha' (or Siha / Sinhe / Singhe / Singha / Singho) have commonly been used by the Sinhalese (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, giving the meaning 'Lion's blood'.[6] 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.[7]

The more common surname Singh 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. "Sinhá moça" is a Brazilian colloquialism that may be translated "miss" or "missy".[8]

Notable persons with the surname Sinha

Places named after Sinha

  • Sigiriya, fortress in Sri Lanka; its short name derives from 'Sinha Giriya' meaning "The rocky place of lions"
  • Singapore, named from 'Singa Pura' / 'Sinha Pure' which means Lion City in Sanskrit, before 1819

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Inden, Ronald B. (1976). Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture: A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal. University of California Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-52002-569-1.
  2. 1 2 Kumar, Ashwani (2008). Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar. University of California Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-84331-709-8.
  3. ↑ John Simmons (1 April 2009). Twenty-six Ways of Looking at a BlackBerry: How to Let Writing Release the Creativity of Your Brand. A&C Black. p. 173. ISBN 9781408105962. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
  4. ↑ Dhirendra Mohan Prasad (1973). Ceylon's Foreign Policy Under the Bandaranaikes (1956-65): A Political Analysis. S. Chand. p. 217.
  5. ↑ India International Centre Quarterly. India International Centre. 2001. p. 210. In spite of the ubiquitous presence of the surname Singh/Sinha which itself is associated with a lion symbolic of power and status, we have a whole range of surnames particularly in Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra
  6. ↑ Leonore Loeb Adler; B. Runi Mukherji (1995). Spirit Versus Scalpel: Traditional Healing and Modern Psychotherapy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 96. ISBN 9780897894067.
  7. ↑ Edward Balfour (1885). The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. B. Quaritch. p. 659–660.
  8. ↑ Machado de Assis. Iaiá Garcia. University Press of Kentucky.
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