SENSEX
NIFTY
GOLD
USD/INR

Weather

image 16    C

Opinion News

The Economic Times

Opinion / The Economic Times

details

What's in a SIRname Anyway?

A routine voter-list verification over a logical discrepancy in a surname opens up a larger, deeply Indian paradox: names that refuse to conform. From colonial-era spellings to caste markers, numerology, regional conventions and generational shifts, Indian surnames have evolved in wildly inconsistent ways.

31 Jan 2026 12:27 am