OdessaProsser28 at 13:42, 19 March 2026

2026-03-19T13:42:29Z

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{{short description|South Asian name}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-pc1|small=yes}}
[[image:YaudheyaCoin.jpg|thumb|A coin, around 200 [[BCE]], of the [[Yaudheyas]] with depiction of Kumāra [[Karttikeya]]]]

'''Kumar''' ({{audio|Kumar Pronunciation.ogg|pronunciation}}; {{langx|sa|[[wikt:कुमार|कुमार]]|kumārá}}) is a [[title]], [[given name]], [[middle name]], or a [[family name]] found in the [[Indian subcontinent]], mainly in, but not limited to, [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Nepal]], though not specific to any religion, ethnicity, or caste. It is a generic title which variously means ''prince'', ''son'', ''boy'', or ''[[Chastity|chaste]]''. It is the 11th most common family name in the world as of August 2019.<ref name="fb">{{Cite web |title=Kumar Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History |url=https://forebears.io/surnames/kumar |access-date=2026-01-07 |website=forebears.io}}</ref>

==History==
The origin of ''kumar'' can be traced back to the early development of [[Hinduism]] and its origin in [[ancient India]]. The first usage of ''Kumar'' was for the [[Four Kumaras|Four Kumāras]], the four sons of [[Brahma]] from the [[Purana|Puran]]ic texts of Hinduism named Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, and Sanat.

In ''Skanda Purana'', the largest ''[[Puranas#Mahapuranas|Mahapurana]]'', a genre of eighteen [[Hindu]] religious texts, the text is devoted mainly to the [[Lila (Hinduism)|leelas]] of [[Kartikeya]], son of [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]]. "Kumar" is used to refer [[Kartikeya]].

==Geographical distribution==
As of 2014, 97.3% of all known bearers of the surname ''Kumar'' were residents of [[India]]. The frequency of the surname was higher than national average in the following [[States and union territories of India|states and union territories]]:<ref name="kumar2014">[http://forebears.co.uk/surnames/kumar#surnames Kumar Surname Distribution]</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 1. [[Himachal Pradesh]] (1: 9)
* 2. [[Chandigarh]] (1: 10)
* 3. [[Delhi]] (1: 11)
* 3. [[Haryana]] (1: 11)
* 4. [[Bihar]] (1: 15)
* 5. [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] (1: 16)
* 5. [[Uttar Pradesh]] (1: 16)
* 6. [[Uttarakhand]] (1: 28)
* 7. [[Rajasthan]] (1: 30)
* 8. [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] (1: 39)
{{div col end}}

==Notable people==

===First name===
* [[Kumar Basnet]], (born 1943) Nepalese folk singer
* [[Kumar Dharmasena]], Sri Lankan cricketer and International cricket umpire
* [[Kumar Gandharva]] (1924–1992), Indian singer
* [[Kumar Gaurav]], Indian film actor
* [[Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir]], Nepalese Buddhist monk
* [[Kumar Malavalli]], Indian businessman
* [[Kumar Mangalam Birla]], Indian industrialist
* [[Kumar Pallana]], Indian film actor
* [[Kumar Ponnambalam]] (1940–2000), Sri Lankan lawyer and politician
* [[Kumar Pradhan]], Nepalese scholar
* [[Narain Karthikeyan|Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan]], Indian racing car driver
* [[Kumar Rocker]], American baseball pitcher
* [[Kumar Sangakkara]], Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team
* [[Kumar Sanu]], Indian playback singer
* [[Kumar Shahani]] (1940–2024), Indian film director
* [[Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji]], cricketer who played for England
* [[Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji]], aka K. S. Ranjitsinhji, Indian prince, maharaja and Test cricketer
* [[Kumar Vishwas]], Hindi-language performance poet

===Middle name===
* [[Kishore Kumar|Abhas Kumar Ganguly]], birth name of Kishore Kumar
* [[Adarsh Kumar Goel]], Indian judge
* [[Ajith Kumar Siriwardena]], Sri Lankan Briton professor of hepato-pancreatico-biliary surgery
* [[Akshay Kumar Datta]], Bengali writer
* [[Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri]], a leading physicist
* [[Amrit Kumar Bohara]], Nepalese politician
* [[Anant Kumar Agarwal]], engineer
* [[Ananth Kumar Hegde]], Indian politician
* [[Anil Kumar Jha]], (born 1969) Nepalese politician
* [[Anjani Kumar Sharma]], Nepalese surgeon
* [[Arjun Kumar Basnet]], (born 1975) Nepalese marathon runner
* [[Arun Shridhar Vaidya|General Arunkumar Vaidya]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Personnel/Chiefs/150-AS-Vaidya.html |title=Land Forces Site - General Arunkumar Sridhar Vaidya |publisher=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=2014-01-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110175835/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Personnel/Chiefs/150-AS-Vaidya.html |archive-date=2014-01-10 }}</ref> the former [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chief of Indian Army]]
* [[Arup Kumar Kundu]], educationist, rheumatologist, clinician, orator, teacher, and author
* [[Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar]], Nepalese politician
* [[Devendra Kumar Joshi]], the Indian Chief of Naval Staff
* [[Dinesh Kumar Tripathi]], serving four star [[flag officer]] of the [[Indian Navy]].
* [[Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay]], a Bengali singer, composer and producer
* [[Inder Kumar Gujral]], an Indian politician who served as the 12th Prime Minister of India
* [[Keshav Kumar Budhathoki]], Nepali politician
* [[Madhav Kumar Nepal]], Former [[Prime Minister of Nepal]]
* [[Manoj Kumar Katiyar]], [[general officer]] of the [[Indian Army]]
* [[Manoj Kumar Pandey]], Indian Army officer, recipient of the Param Vir Chakra
* [[Manoj Kumar Sharma]], [[Indian Police Service]] (IPS) officer
* [[Nirmal Kumar Verma]], former senior [[Naval Officer|naval officer]]
* [[Pawan Kumar Chamling]], an Sikkimese politician who served as the 5th Chief Minister of Sikkim
* Pradip Kumar Rai known as [[Byakul Maila]], Nepalese poet
* [[Prafulla Kumar Mahanta]], Indian politician who was the leader of the [[Assam Movement]], a former [[Chief Minister of Assam]]
* [[Prem Kumar Dhumal]], chief minister of Indian state
* [[Raj Kumar Saini]], Indian politician
* [[Rajkummar Rao|Raj Kumar Rao]], Indian actor
* [[Raj Kumar Kapoor]], Indian actor, director
* [[Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria]], retired [[Indian Air Force]] officer, who served as the [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]] of the [[Indian Air Force]]
* [[Ravi Kumar Dahiya]], Indian [[freestyle wrestler]]
* [[Ravi Kumar Dhingra]], serving Flag officer in the [[Indian Navy]]
* [[Roop Kumar Rathod]], an Indian playback singer and music director
* [[Sanjeev Kumar Yadav]], [[Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service|DANIPS]] officer.
* [[Santosh Kumar Ghosh]], Bengali writer and journalist
* [[Santosh Kumar Gupta]], former Indian Navy admiral, recipient of Maha Vir Chakra
* [[Satinder Kumar Saini]], vice chief of the Indian army
* [[Selvar Kumar Silvaras]] (c. 1971–1998), Singaporean convicted murderer
* [[Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya]], Nepalese diplomat
* [[Shiv Kumar Batalvi]], a Punjabi language poet
* [[Siddharth Kumar Tewary]], [[India]]n television [[Film producer|producer]] and [[Film director|director]]
* [[Srinivas Kumar Sinha]], Indian military officer
* [[Sunil Kumar Yadav]], Nepalese politician
* [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]], an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur
* [[Sushil Kumar Modi]], is an Indian politician
* [[Tapan Kumar Pradhan]], Indian bank, activist and poet
* [[Tej Kumar Shrestha]], Nepalese zoologist
* [[Vijay Kumar Malhotra]], Indian politician
* [[Vijay Kumar Pandey]], Nepalese journalist
* [[V. K. Singh|Vijay Kumar Singh]], Indian politician and a retired four star general in the Indian Army
* [[Vijay Kumar Yadav (judoka)|Vijay Kumar Yadav]], Indian [[judoka]]
* [[Vineet Kumar Singh]], Indian film actor
* [[Vinod Kumar Shukla]], modern Hindi writer
* [[Vinod Kumar Yadav]], Former [[chairperson of the Railway Board]], first chief executive officer, Railway Board, [[Indian Railways]]
* [[Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha]], retired [[Indian people|Indian]] [[diplomat]]
* [[Yogesh Kumar Joshi]], 17th and the current Commander, XIV Corps of the Indian Army
* [[Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal]], the 36th [[Chief Justice of India]]

===Last name===
* [[Ajith Kumar]], an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema
* [[Akhil Kumar]], an Indian boxer who has won several international and national boxing awards
* [[Akshay Kumar]], stage name of Indian-Canadian film actor, producer and martial artist, Rajiv Bhatia
* [[Amit Kumar (singer)|Amit Kumar]], Indian film playback singer, actor, and director
* [[Amitava Kumar]], Indian writer, journalist, professor
* [[Anand Kumar]], Indian mathematician
* [[Anil Kumar]], Indian businessman, consultant
* [[Anup Kumar (actor)|Anup Kumar]], Indian film actor
* [[Ashok Kumar]], AKA Dadamoni in Bengali, Indian film actor
* [[Ashok Kumar (Jammu and Kashmir politician)]], Member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
* [[Arun Kumar (Uttar Pradesh politician)|Arun Kumar]], Indian politician [[Bandi Sanjay Kumar]], Indian politician
* [[Bhushan Kumar]], chairman and managing director of [[T-Series (company)|T-Series]]
* [[Bhuvneshwar Kumar]], Indian pace bowler
* [[Chetan Kumar]], Indian actor
* [[Darshan Kumar]], Indian actor
* [[Deepak Kumar (disambiguation)|Deepak Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Deepak Kumar (historian)]], Indian historian
** [[Deepak Kumar (physicist)]], Indian condensed matter physicist and professor
** [[Deepak Kumar (sport shooter)]], Indian sport shooter
* [[Dev Kumar]], Indian actor
* [[Digendra Kumar]], Indian military officer
* [[Dilip Kumar]], Indian film actor known as the 'Tragedy King' and a former Member of Parliament
* [[Dinesh Kumar (basketball)]], Indian professional basketball player
* [[Divya Khosla Kumar]], Indian film actress, producer and director
* [[E. Santhosh Kumar]], Indian writer
* [[Girish Kumar]], Indian film actor
* [[G. V. Prakash Kumar]], Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer
* [[Gulshan Kumar]], T-Series music label owner
* [[:hi:गुरू रुद्र कुमार|Guru Rudra Kumar]]
* [[Havildar Anuj Kumar]], Indian professional bodybuilder
* [[Himanshu Kumar]], Indian activist
* [[Hiten Kumar]], Gujarati film actor
* [[Inder Kumar]], Indian actor
* [[Indra Kumar]], an Indian film director and producer
* [[Jainendra Kumar]] (1905–1988), Indian writer
* [[Jeeva Kumar]], Indian kabbadi player
* [[Jitender Kumar (flyweight boxer)]], an Indian flyweight boxer
* [[Jitendra Kumar]], Indian film actor
* [[Kanhaiya Kumar]], Indian politician
* [[Kishore Kumar]], Indian film playback singer, actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter
* [[M Kiran Kumar]], Indian businessman
* [[Manoj Kumar (disambiguation)]], several people, including:
** [[Manoj Kumar (boxer)]], Indian boxer who won a gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
** [[Manoj Kumar]], an award-winning Indian actor and director in the Bollywood
* [[María Teresa Kumar]], a political organizer and [[voting rights]] activist for Latinos in the United States
* [[Meira Kumar]], an Indian politician and a five time Member of Parliament
* [[Mukesh Kumar (disambiguation)|Mukesh Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Mukesh Kumar (cricketer)]], Indian cricketer
** [[Mukesh Kumar (field hockey)]], Indian field hockey player
** [[Mukesh Kumar (golfer)]], Indian golfer
* [[Mukul Kumar]], Indian civil servant and writer
* [[Navin Kumar]]
* [[Navleen Kumar]], Indian human rights activist
* [[Nirmalya Kumar]], professor and businessman
* [[Niru Kumar]], Indian social activist
* [[Nish Kumar]], British comedian
* [[Nitish Kumar]], Indian politician who served as the 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar
* [[Oil Kumar]], aa Indian ganglord and organized crime boss
* [[Pawan Kumar (disambiguation)|Pawan Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Pawan Kumar (director)]], Indian film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter
** [[Pawan Kumar (wrestler)]], Indian wrestler
* [[Pradeep Kumar (actor)]], Indian actor in Hindi, Bengali and English-language films
* [[Praveen Kumar (cricketer)]], Indian medium-pace swing bowler
* [[Prem Kumar (disambiguation)|Prem Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Prem Kumar (footballer)]] (born 1989), Indian footballer
** [[Prem Kumar (Malayalam actor)]], Indian film actor in Malayalam films
** [[Prem Kumar (Tamil actor)]], Indian film actor in Tamil films
* [[R Sri Kumar]] (born 1949), Indian vigilance commissioner
* [[Raaj Kumar]], Indian film actor
* [[Rajendra Kumar]], Indian film actor
* [[Ratan Kumar]], Film actor
* [[Ravi Kumar (footballer)|Ravi Kumar (Indian footballer)]]
* [[Ravish Kumar]], Indian Journalist at NDTV India
* [[Ritu Kumar]], Indian fashion designer
* [[Rohit Kumar (disambiguation)|Rohit Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Rohit Kumar (footballer)]], Indian professional footballer
** [[Rohit Kumar (kabaddi)]], Indian professional Kabaddi player
** [[Rohit Kumar (rower)]], Indian professional rower
* [[Sai Kumar (Malayalam actor)|Sai Kumar]], Malayalam actor
* [[Sanjay Kumar (disambiguation)|Sanjay Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Sanjay Kumar (business executive)]], former CEO of [[Computer Associates]]
** [[Sanjay Kumar (soldier)]], Indian Army soldier who received the [[Param Vir Chakra]]
* [[Sanjeev Kumar]], Indian film actor
* [[Satish Kumar (pastor)]], Indian pastor
* [[Saurabh Kumar (engineer)]], Indian engineer
* [[Shashi Kumar]], or Shashikumar, Indian actor and politician
* [[Srini Kumar]]
* [[Sushil Kumar (disambiguation)|Sushil Kumar]], several people, including:
** [[Sushil Kumar (wrestler)]], Indian World Champion wrestler
* [[Tulsi Kumar]], an Indian playback singer for Bollywood films
* [[Udai Kumar]]
* [[Udaya Kumar (director)]], Kannada film director
* [[Uttam Kumar]], Indian (Bengali) cinema actor and contemporary of Dilip Kumar
* [[Uttar Kumar]], famous actor in north India
* [[Varun Kumar (journalist)]], Indian journalist
* [[Venkatesh Kumar]], Hindustani vocalist
* [[Vikram Kumar]], Indian film director and screenwriter
* [[Vijay Kumar (sport shooter)]], Indian champion shooter, Olympic 2012 silver medalist
* [[U. Vimal Kumar|Vimal Kumar]], Indian badminton player
* [[Vinay Kumar]], Indian [[cricket]] player
* [[Vinay Kumar (pathologist)]], the Alice Hogge & Arthur Baer Professor of Pathology at the University of Chicago
* [[Vinay Kumar (academician)]]
* [[Vinoth Kumar]], Indian [[association football|football]] player
* [[Vishwa Mohan Kumar]] (born 1958), Indian politician
* [[Yuva Kumar]]

==See also==
* [[Kumarbi]]
* [[Keyumars]]
* [[Yuvraj (disambiguation)]]
* [[Arunkumar]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Surnames]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language surnames]]

Kumar - Revision history

OdessaProsser28 at 13:42, 19 March 2026