Patel


Patel is an Indian surname, predominantly found in the state of Gujarat and Mumbai from the Farmer community in India, representing the community of land-owning farmers and later businessmen, agriculturalists and merchants. Traditionally the surname is a status name referring to the village chieftains throughout during medieval ages, and was later retained as successive generations stemmed out into communities of land owners, including among Patidars, Kolis, some Parsis and Muslims. Currently, there are three major branches of people bearing the surname: Koli Patel that migrated from early Punjab many centuries ago and identify as Kshatriya, Leuva & Kadva identify their lineage from Luv & Kush. The branches are distinguished mainly by geographic location and varying cultural practices. There are roughly 500,000 Patels outside India, including 150,000 in Britain and 150,000 in the US. Nearly 1 in 10 people of Indian origin in the US is a Patel.

Etymology

The term patel derives from the word Patidar, literally "one who holds pieces of land called patis, implying a higher economic status than that of the landless, ultimately from Sanskrit paṭṭakīla, with the ending -dar denoting ownership.

Geographical distribution

The surname historically originated in the Indian state of Gujarat, where it is amongst the most common of surnames. Today, the name is found across India, as well as several other countries.
The surname is also common in the Indian diaspora. In the United States of America, several people with this surname are involved in the motel business, and this has been noted in the popular media.