Sinha

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

Sinha is a Sanskrit term and surname which originates in the Indian subcontinent. The surname is commonly used by the upper caste Kayasthas, typically the Bengali Kayasthas^[1] and the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of the Hindi Belt.^[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, Sinhas 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

• Tapan Sinha, Indian film director, who worked both in Bengali and Hindi cinema
• Tapan Sinha (admiral), Indian admiral
• Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, Bangladeshi film actress
• Manoj Sinha, 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
• Mala Sinha, Indian film actress
• Kaliprasanna Sinha, Bengali language author, playwright, and philanthropist
• Bikash Sinha, Indian scientist
• Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, first Governor of Bihar and Orissa, first Indian Advocate-General of Bengal, first Indian to become a member of the Viceroy's executive Council and the first Indian to become a member of the British ministry
• Paul Sinha, British quiz player and comedian
• Vidya Sinha, Indian film actress
• Shatrughan Sinha, Indian film actor and politician
• Sonakshi Sinha, Indian film actress
• Shumona Sinha, Indian writer
• Surajit Chandra Sinha, Indian anthropologist
• Anubhav Sinha, Indian film director
• Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar
• P. B. Illangasinghe, Sri Lankan notary public, wrote the initial version of Sri Lankan national anthem
• Susanthika Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan athlete who won the Olympic silver medal for the 200m event
• Martin Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan novelist who authored the greatest Sinhalese novel Viragaya.Viragaya
• Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan politician, prime minister of Sri Lanka four times
• Mukul Sinha, Indian humans rights lawyer

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

• Singh

References

1. 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. 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.