Pillai or Pillay is a surname found among the Malayalam and Tamil-speaking people of India and Sri Lanka.
Origin
The term Pillai literally means "Prince" in English, "Rajput" in Hindi. [1] Tamil inscriptions define the direct meaning of Pillai as "Child of King" (prince), denoting nobility.[2] The title occur both as a single name or as a suffix to the name. It is the primary title of Vellalars. It is also used by Nairs [3][4][5]
People
Notable people with this surname or its variants include:
- Ashan Pillai, Violist and Professor, British citizen born in Srilanka (1969)
- A. R. Pillai, Indian freedom fighter
- Dr. Anton Sebastianpillai, author and consultant geriatrician, who died of COVID-19, contracted while treating elderly patients, in April 2020 in London, England
- Ananda Ranga Pillai (1709–61), dubash in the service of French East India Company
- Ariranga Pillay (born 1945), former Chief Justice and briefly Acting President of Mauritius
- Arumuka Navalar, born as Kandarpillai Arumugapillai, a Sri Lankan Hindu reformer
- Bastiampillai Anthonipillai Thomas (1886-1964), Sri Lankan Tamil priest and founder of Rosarians Order
- Bastiampillai Deogupillai (1917-2003), Sri Lankan Tamil Roman Catholic bishop
- B. Ravi Pillai is an Indian entrepreneur. He is the founder and managing director of RP Group of Companies.
- C. W. Thamotharampillai, publisher of ancient Tamil texts
- Candice Pillay, born 1981, singer and songwriter
- Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, Malayalam poet
- Chempakaraman Pillai (1891–1934), freedom fighter from Travancore of Tamil descent
- Chinna Migapillai, 17th century feudal lord and rebel leader from the Jaffna Kingdom
- Devasahayam Pillai (1712–52), Indian court official, controversial convert to Christianity
- Dhanraj Pillay (born 1968), Indian hockey player
- G. P. Pillai, barrister, established the first English newspaper in South India
- G. Parameswaran Pillai (1890–1963), Dewan of Travancore
- Gooty Kesava Pillai (1860–1933), Indian journalist and freedom-fighter. Delegate from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh at the first session of the Indian National Congress.
- K. C. Pillai, Doctor of Divinity, (1900–70) a Bishop-at-large of the Indian Orthodox Church, Antiochean Succession, Chennai (Madras), India.
- K. Appavu Pillai (1911–1973), Indian politician
- K. C. Sreedharan Pillai (1920–85), Indian mathematician
- K. Perumal Pillai
- K. Thamboosamy Pillay (1850–1902), a prominent member of the Tamil community in British Malaya.
- Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai, Indian freedom fighter, poet
- L. D. Swamikannu Pillai, Indian astronomer, Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly
- M. M. Pareed Pillay- Former Chief Justice of Kerala
- M. P. Narayana Pillai, a Malayalam writer
- M. K. Mackar Pillay, Indian industrialist and politician
- Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai, eminent writer in Tamil literature; his poem "Niraarum Kadal Udutha" is the official Tamil Anthem
- Maraimalai Adigal (Nagai Vedachalam Pillai) eminent Tamil orator and writer started Pure Tamil movement Tanittamil Iyakkam.
- Marimutthu Pillai, musician
- Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725–64), Indian soldier and administrator also known as Muhammed Yusuf Khan.
- Murali Pillai, Singaporean politician of Indian descent
- Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai (born 1931), leader of Indian Coffee House movement
- Naraina Pillai, a social entrepreneur and businessman
- Navanethem Pillay, South African Judge, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Nisha Pillai, Indian-born journalist and BBC news anchor
- P. Govinda Pillai, a Communist Party of India leader
- Palani Subramaniam Pillai (1908–62), Carnatic music percussionist
- Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai (1890–1971), Indian freedom fighter
- Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (1885–1970), Second Chief Minister of unified Kerala, Communist leader
- Periyapillai, 16th century king of the Jaffna Kingdom
- Prabhakaran Velupillai, leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
- Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, minister of Ramnad during the reign of Muthuramalinga Sethupathy
- Prem Nath Pillai (born 1982) Malaysian based filmmaker and editor
- R. Balakrishna Pillai (1935–2021), State minister in Kerala
- Rajmohan Pillai (born 1964), Indian businessman
- Rhea Pillai, Indian model
- Sreekanteswaram Padmanabha Pillai, lexicographer
- Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai (1901–50), Indian mathematician
- Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai, journalist and political activist. Translated Karl Marx's biography into Malayalam
- T. S. Ramasamy Pillai (1918–2006), Freedom-fighter, politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)
- Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1912–99), Malayalam author
- Trevin Callistus Bastiampillai (born 1985), Sri Lankan Canadian cricketer
- V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, current Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU
- V. O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872–1936), Indian freedom fighter, popularly known as V.O.C. and as Kappalottiya Tamilan
- Venkatarama Ramalingam Pillai, (AKA Namakkal Kavignar Ramalingam Pillai) poet and freedom fighter.
References
- ↑ Conference, Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe International; Parpola, Asko (1994). Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae. Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia. p. 580. ISBN 9789514107290.
- ↑ Sircar, Dineschandra (1966). Indian Epigraphical Dictionary. p. 166. ISBN 9788120805620.
- ↑ Pandian, Jacob (1987). Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order. Popular Prakashan. p. 110. ISBN 9780861321360.
- ↑ University, Vijaya Ramaswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru (2017-08-25). Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 268. ISBN 9781538106860.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Pfister, Raymond (1995). Soixante ans de pentecôtisme en Alsace (1930-1990): une approche socio-historique. P. Lang. p. 166. ISBN 9783631486207.
 |
This page lists people with the surname Pillai. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. |