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Singh
Modern Punjabi
n sher. M; shinh. M; babar sher. M;
ਏਕੁ ਅਚੰਭਉ ਸੁਨਹੁ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਭਾਈ ॥
eaek achanbho sunahu thumh bhaaee ||
Listen to this wonderful thing, O Siblings of Destiny!
ਦੇਖਤ ਸਿੰਘੁ ਚਰਾਵਤ ਗਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
dhaekhath singh charaavath gaaee ||1|
I saw the lion herding the cows. ||1|
Sant Kabir
The word "Singh" is derived from the Sanskrit Siṃha meaning lion.
Singh was first used as a surname by the Rajputs beginning in the 7th century. It has been common practice among the Rajput men to have Singh as their middle name.The Rajputs started using Singh in preference to the classical epithet of "Varman".
The Sikhs adopted Singh as a surname in 1699, as per the wish of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. In the Spring of 1699, on the day of Baisakhi, Guru Gobind Singh (originally named Guru Gobind Rai), made it mandatory for all Sikh males to append the name suffix Singh after their name. Singh is used as a middle name or as a surname (see naming patterns section) by approximately 10 million adherents of Sikhism.
Apart from the Sikhs and the Rajputs, several other groups in India have also adopted Singh as either a middle name or a surname. Some of these include the Yadavs (e.g. "Mulayam Singh Yadav"), the Bhumihars, the non-Sikh Punjabis, the Gujjars (e.g. "Nirbhay Singh Gujjar"), and the non-Sikh Jats (e.g. "Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana").
Contrary to the popular belief that Singh is only used by Punjabis, Singh is used by a wider population from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh and from Kashmir down into Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra to Nepal as well as the far eastern states of Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Sikkim and even Bhutan, spanning the entire subcontinent and even reaching Southeast Asia. It is also found in use among West Indians of Indian origin namely in places of Guyana, Trinidad and Surinam, as well as people of Indian origin found in Mauritius and Fiji Island.
The use of Singh in Hindus as a middle name or last name denotes automatically that they are from the Kshatriya varna and are of the Rajput sub-caste or are descended from them where intermarriages have happened with Jats and Gujjars etc. Original occupation of Kshatriyas and Rajputs was of being warriors and rulers, many families under different circumstances over the centuries intermarried or changed their profession to being farmers, carpenters etc. but retained Singh in their name denoting their ancestry and original family genealogy and caste.
source: www.wikopedia.com
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