Sharma Hindi शर्मा, Urdu شرمہ, Assamese: শর্মা is a name used in the Indian subcontinent mostly in Northern India as a surname or given name.[1][2] As a noun in Sanskrit, Sharma has various positive connotations, such as "bliss", "happiness", "shelter", "laid back" and "protection."[1]
Sharma is a surname of brahmin caste. In much of North India (including Punjab, Delhi,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,and Uttar Pradesh), it is regarded as a family name. However, the name does not necessarily denote a unique paternal lineage. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to find "Sharma" used as a middle name in some parts of North India. In South and South-central India, it constitutes a first name or given name. For instance, Janamanchi Seshadri Sarma's surname is Janamanchi and Sharma is part of the given name of Mayurasharma.
The name Sharma is written as शर्मा in Hindi.[3] An alternative version of the name used in the city of Varanasi and the Indian states of Assam and Andhra Pradesh is Sarma.[4] Some Assamese people also use Sarmah. and Sarma[4]
According to Dictionary of American Family Names[2], the name Sharma is listed as "Indian: Hindu (Brahman) name from Sanskrit šarma ‘joy’, ‘shelter’." Other theories suggest that origin of the name Sharma lies in the ancient Sanskrit word "Sharman" which means teacher or master.
According to Indian sociologist, S. Devadas Pillai,[5] in his book Indian sociology through Ghurye, a dictionary, "The suffix Sharma indicates that the chanter is a Brahman..." e.g. Surabhi Sharma, Somya Sharma, et al.