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{{short description|Indo-Nepalese family name}}
{{short description|Indian and Nepalese family name}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox surname
{{Infobox surname
|name          = Upreti / Uprety  
|name          = Upreti / Uprety  
|pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|ʌ|p|'|ɹ|ɛ|t|iː}} {{respell|UP|reh|TEE}} <br /> {{IPA-hi|ʊp'reːt̪iː}}
|pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|ʌ|p|'|ɹ|ɛ|t|iː}} {{respell|UP|reh|TEE}} <br /> {{IPA|hi|ʊp'reːt̪iː}}
|image        = File:Aum Om orange circle blue.svg
|image        =  
|caption      =
|caption      =
|meaning      =  
|meaning      =  
*derived from the village name ''Uprara'', meaning "originated from Uprara"
{{ubl|Someone from the village Uprara|Fom [[Sanskrit]] ''uparati'', meaning "cessation from worldly pleasure"}}
*possibly derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word ''Uparati'', meaning "cessation from worldly pleasure".
|region        =[[Pithoragarh district]], [[Uttarakhand]], India
|region        =[[Pithoragarh district]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[India]]
|variant      =
|variant      =
|seealso      = [[Bhat]], [[Joshi]], [[Pandey]], [[Pant (surname)|Pant]], [[Upadhyay]]
|seealso      = [[Acharya]], [[Joshi]], [[Pant (surname)|Pant]], [[Sharma]], [[Upadhyay]]
|footnotes    =
|footnotes    =
}}
}}


'''Upreti''' or sometimes spelled '''Uprety''' ([[ISO 15919|ISO]]: ''Upretī''), is a surname found in the [[Hindu]] community of [[Kumaoni people|Kumaoni]] [[Bahun|Brahmins]], primarily living in the [[Kumaon division|Kumaon]] region of [[Uttarakhand]] state of [[India]] and all over [[Nepal]]. A few members of this community are found in [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Delhi]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Sikkim]] and some other states of India too.
'''Upreti''' or '''Upraiti''' ([[ISO 15919|ISO]]: ''Upretī''),  sometimes spelled as '''Uprety''', is a surname found among the [[Brahmin|Brahmins]] of [[Uttarakhand]], India and the [[Bahun|Bahuns]] in Nepal. It derives from the Uprara village in [[Pithoragarh district]] of Uttarakhand. An alternative etymology derives it from "uparati" in [[Sanskrit]], meaning someone who has renounced worldy pleasure.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Upreti |url=https://www.ancestry.com/last-name-meaning/upreti |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Dictionary of American Family Names |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |language=en-US |via=[[Ancestry.com]]}}</ref>
 
According to their traditions they are the descendants of the [[Rishi|sage]] [[Mudgala]], the teacher of [[Hindu deity]] [[Ganesha]] and the one who introduced [[Om]] in his teachings to Ganesha. Adherent of [[Shaivism]] sect, they worship [[Shiva]] as their [[Kuladevata|prime deity]].<ref>People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Three edited by A. Hasan & J. C. Das Part Three pages 1545 to 1549 Manohar Publications</ref>
 
==Etymology==
According to [[Badri Datt Pandey]]'s book ''Kumaon Ka Itihas'' ({{Translation|History of Kumaon}}) where he quotes [[Pandit]] Rudra Datt Pant,
(pp.&nbsp;572) - "During the times of the [[Katyuri kings]], from the Chauki village of [[Doti]], a [[Kanyakubja Brahmin]] named Shambhu Sharma came to Kali Kumaon and settled in Uprara village of [[Pithoragarh district]], hence the descendants were called Upretis."
 
According to another source, around 450 A.D. to 550 A.D. Lalchan Bhatta came to [[Achham District]] in [[Nepal]] from Vidyanagar, [[Jalandhar]] to serve a new king. The highly sought [[yogi]] was rewarded as Royal Priest by the king. During his tenure as a Royal Priest he didn’t take any money nor gifts. Due to this the king awarded the great priest the ''Uparati'' title. This was the highest title awarded by that king at that time. Therefore, ''Uparati'' is meant as someone who is literate and has no desire for earthly wonders. Later on, the word ''Uparati'' corrupted to form ''Upreti''.
 
According to an interview with Yogi Narhari Nath in 1996 he stated that, ‘Upreti is not just a [[caste]] or a [[clan]] but it is an award.’ According to him, there used to live a sage named [[Mudgala]] in [[Mugu District]] of Nepal. It is said that during the [[Ashvamedha|Ashvamedha Yajna]] of [[Baliraja]] the chief priest ([[Purohit]]) was [[Vashishtha]] while secondary priests (Upa-purohita) were the descendants of Mudgala. Therefore, it is also thought that the word Upa-purohita was twisted to make the surname Upreti.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Upreti Vanshavali|publisher=Upreti Samaj Seva Samiti, 1995|year=2009|location=Kathmandu|page=1}}</ref>
 
==History==
In the same section of his book, Badri Datt Pandey mentions about the famous Pandit Ram Datt Jyotirvidji,
who says that Uprara/Upretyara, the estate of the then royal priests Upretis in [[Gangolihat]] was given to the [[Pancha-Dravida|Dravida]] [[Bajpai|Vajpayee Brahmin]] Shivaprasad who came to Kumaon during the reign of Mankoti kings.
 
During the time of the [[Gorkha Kingdom|Gorkhas]], Pandit Jayakrishna Upreti was a famous General whose descendants continue to live in [[Almora]].
 
Badri Datt Pandey mentions that within Kumaoni Brahmins, the Upretis of Patiya, Jhijhar, and Supakot have a common descent, whereas other Upreti's belong to a different group (pp.&nbsp;572).
 
He also quotes that Pandit Ganga Datt Upreti claims that a few Upretis are also the original inhabitants of [[Maharashtra]] state of the [[Western India]] region who later migrated to the Kumaon region.
 
Thus those who claim to have Kanyakubja origins would have migrated to the [[Himalaya]] during the Islamic invasions of the twelfth century, whereas the one from Maharashtra would have moved northward along with the [[Maratha people|Marathas]] in the seventeenth century. The former seems more plausible as the [[Chand dynasty]] who ruled the [[Kumaon Kingdom]] from the tenth century onward, after the reign of the Katyuris, came from [[Kannauj]].
 
They also migrated to Nepal along with other Brahmins from [[Pithoragarh district]] under the royal patronage of the Hindu Kingdom when the Kumaon region was under the control of the Gorkhas till the [[Treaty of Sugauli]] with [[British Raj|British India]] in 1815 A.D.<ref name=":0" />


==Notable people with Upreti as a surname==
==Notable people with Upreti as a surname==
* [[Almoda Rana Uprety]]; Nepalese singer and musician  
* [[Almoda Rana Uprety]]; Nepalese singer and musician  
* [[Arun Kumar Upreti]], Indian politician
* [[Arun Kumar Upreti]]; Indian politician
* [[Bharat Raj Upreti]]; Former judge of the Supreme Court of Nepal
* [[Benoy Upreti]]; Indian cricketer
* [[Bishal Nath Upreti]]; Nepalese academician
* [[Bharat Raj Upreti]]; former judge of the Supreme Court of Nepal
* [[Bishal Nath Upreti]]; Nepalese academic
* [[Dalip Kumar Upreti]]; Indian lichenologist
* [[Dalip Kumar Upreti]]; Indian lichenologist
* [[Hari Prasad Upreti]]; Nepalese politician
* [[Kharananda Upreti]]; Indian politician
* [[Kharananda Upreti]]; Indian politician
* [[Kul Prasad Uprety]], Nepalese politician
* [[Kul Prasad Uprety]]; Nepalese politician
* [[Mohan Upreti]]; Indian playwright and theater personality
* [[Melissa Upreti]]; Nepalese lawyer and human rights expert
* [[Mohan Upreti]]; Indian playwright and theatre personality
* [[Nikhil Upreti]]; Nepalese actor
* [[Nikhil Upreti]]; Nepalese actor
* [[Nilkantha Upreti]]; Former Chief Election Commissioner of Nepal
* [[Nilkantha Upreti]]; Former Chief Election Commissioner of Nepal
* [[Ramesh Upreti]]; Nepalese actor
* [[Sanjeev Uprety]]; Nepalese journalist
* [[Sanjeev Uprety]]; Nepalese journalist
<!-- Please DO NOT add people to this list who do not already have their own Wikipedia articles. -->
<!-- Please DO NOT add people to this list who do not already have their own Wikipedia articles. -->
==See also==
* [[Bahun]]([[Brahmin]])
*[[Kumaon Kingdom]]
* [[Kumaoni language]]
*
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindu origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindustani origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindustani origin]]
[[Category:People from Pithoragarh district]]
[[Category:Brahmin communities of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Bahun]]
[[Category:Khas surnames]]
[[Category:Toponymic surnames]]
[[Category:Nepali-language surnames]]
[[Category:Nepali-language surnames]]
[[Category:Hindu surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Nepalese origin]]
[[Category:Himalayan peoples]]
[[Category:Kumaoni people]]
[[Category:Social groups of India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Nepal]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Brahmin communities of Nepal]]
[[Category:Brahmin communities of Uttarakhand]]

Latest revision as of 21:29, 30 October 2025


Upreti / Uprety
Pronunciation/ʌpˈrɛtiː/ UP-reh-TEE
hi
Origin
Meaning
  • Someone from the village Uprara
  • Fom Sanskrit uparati, meaning "cessation from worldly pleasure"
Region of originPithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, India
Other names
See alsoAcharya, Joshi, Pant, Sharma, Upadhyay

Upreti or Upraiti (ISO: Upretī), sometimes spelled as Uprety, is a surname found among the Brahmins of Uttarakhand, India and the Bahuns in Nepal. It derives from the Uprara village in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. An alternative etymology derives it from "uparati" in Sanskrit, meaning someone who has renounced worldy pleasure.[1]

Notable people with Upreti as a surname[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Upreti". Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 October 2025 – via Ancestry.com.
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