Kar (suffix)

Kar (Marathi: कर Kar, Konkani: कार Kār) is a suffix used after the names of villages along the western coast of India, forming the most common surnames used by the Marathi and Konkani people in Maharashtra, Goa and some parts of Karnataka.

Kar is the surname of mostly the Brahmins of Kashmir and Maharashtra. Kar Brahmins hail from Karhama village in Kashmir, India.[citation needed] In Bengal region, Kar is a common Bengali surname used by people of the Bengali Kayastha caste.

## Etymology

[edit]

The suffix Kar comes from the Sanskrit Kāra, which means "making, doing, lord of", later modified to mean "hailing from" or "belonging to" in Prakrit-based languages.[1]

## Usage

[edit]

Such surnames are commonly used by communities of Konkani and Marathi ethnicities all over India. Most of them identify themselves with a place their ancestors hailed from, or sometimes with new places to which they have migrated. For example, if a person hails from the village of Borim in Goa, his surname would be Borkār; this custom is also followed by Konkani migrants to Karnataka. If a person hails from the town of Sirsi, the surname used would be Sirsekār.[2] The surname Kar is also used in countries like Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, Myanmar, Egypt, and others.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Monier Williams. "Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Monier Williams. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
2. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh; B. G. Halbar; Anthropological Survey of India (2003). Karnataka Volume 26 of People of India, Kumar Suresh Singh Karnataka, Anthropological Survey of India. Anthropological Survey of India. pp. Pages:1612(See page:430). ISBN 9788185938981.
3. ^ "Kar Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History".