Puri (Family Name)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Puri, (Hindi: पुरी or पुऋ (although the latter is much less common)), (Urdu: ﯼﺭﻮﭘ), (Punjabi: ਪੁਰੀ), is a Khatri (Kshatriya) surname originating from the Potwar or region of the Punjab in modern day Pakistan. It is a name common with Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families in India and Pakistan. The Puri family name is strictly of the Punjab region and links no connection to the Southwest Indian City of Puri in the state of Orissa.
The surname itself is usually thought to have derived from the word Puru, the name of the ancient Aryan tribe of the Northern and Northwestern Punjab region. It is thought that this word follows a compound of "Puru" and the possessive suffix "i" hence meaning "of the Puru".
It can be noted that Porus, the Indian king who fought Alexander the Great at the battle of the Hydaspes River was of the Puru tribe, and the modern community of Sabharwal Kukhran Khatris trace their ancestry to him and his family.
[edit] Distinguished Puri's
- Major General Mohinder Puri of the Indian Army who led the capture of Tiger Hill in the 1999 Kargil Indo-Pakistan War
- Aroon Purie, an Indian businessman and the founder & editor in chief of India Today
- Balraj Puri, a journalist, writer and human rights activist whose life is a part of the history of Jammu & Kashmir
- The Late Amrish Puri - Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
- The Late Madan Puri - Bollywood and film actor
- Om Puri - Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
