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Sinha

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For the list of people with surnames of "Sinha", see Sinha (surname).

Sinha is a Sanskrit term originates in the Indian subcontinent, common in India, Sri Lanka and covering south Asia. It comes from the Sanskrit word "Siṃha" ('ng' sound), which means lion. It was mainly used by royal lineages.

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 'Lions blood'. The word Simhmam (or Singam / Singham / Singhai / Singai) is the Sri Lankan Tamil derivative. In northern and middle part of India as well as southern India Sinhraj, sinharaj, Rajasinha or sinharaja is also use, giving the meaning Lion king or leo king.

The more common surnames, "Singh" in India has same root. "Weerasingha", "Jayasinghe", "Wijesinghe", "Edirisinghe", "Singaiariyan" etc., also in Sri Lanka share this same root. As a surname, Sinha is mainly used by upper castes from Kshatriya (Kings, Royal administrators & warriors) belonging to Rajsthan(Rajputana), up, bihar, bengal(in Bengal some of them use Sinha Roy or Singha Roy), east-punjab, multan and Sindh(in Multan and Sindh Sinha or Rai Sinha-lineage of Bhati Rajputs). community of Rajputs, and Kayasthas as well as Brahmins like Bhumihars, in Orissa and South West Bengal (Northern Rurh region-Burdwan belt), Sinha is also a shortened version of the surname Singha-Maha-Patra, a Utkal Brahmin surname. In Northern India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab surnames of Singh is commonly used for Kshatriya Varna especially in Rajputs, Jats, Gujjars, etc.

Being landholding sub-castes of Brahmins like Bhumihar Brahmin and Maithil Brahmins, some of them have secular titles like Singh interchangeably and more stylized as Sinha.[1] The general editor of the book "People of India (Bihar and Jharkhand)", published by Anthropological Survey of India (ASI), and noted academician-bureaucrat, the late Kumar Suresh Singh, said that the surname "Singh or Sinha", which used to denote connection with power and authority, was used in Bihar by some Brahmin zamindars and mostly by the Kayastha landlords and Administrators.

There is a tribe of Sinha Mahapatras who are Vaidiki Brahmins who originated from the courts of the King of Orissa and travelled northwards into the Chota Nagpur plateau region settling in Jharkhand and Southern West Bengal. They use the surname Sinha as well.

File:SinhaHistory.pdf
SinhaHistory

[2]

Sinha is also an unrelated [citation needed] name found in Brazil.

Notable people named Sinha

Kayastha

Bhumihar Brahmin/Babhan

Maithil Brahmins

Rajput

Christian

Rajaka

Nayak Dynasty

Unknown

Notable destinations named after Sinha

  • Sinhalaya – Name of the Kingdom of Sri Lanka before the invasion period in 1505 and after the independence from 1948 to 1950's.
  • Sigiriya – Short name derives from 'Sinha Giriya' giving the meaning "Lions' throat".
  • Singapore – Singapore's name comes from 'Singa Pura' / 'Sinha Pure' which means Lion City in Sanskrit before 1819.

References

  1. ^ "Using surnames to conceal identity". The Times of India. 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  2. ^ "Nalanda JD(U) nominee a grassroots worker". The Times Of India. 2009-03-24.

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