Pokharel

Pokharel (Nepali:पोखरेल) (also spelled as Pokhrel) is fairly a common surname (family name) in Nepal. It is believed to be derived from the word Pokhari which means 'lake' in Nepali language. The name essentially means lake dweller. The name belongs to members of both the Brahmin (priest) and Kshatriya (warrior) castes.

It is believed that hundreds of years ago, Pokharels fled Islamic invasion of India and arrived in Nepal. In the north, near the Himalayas they ruled a small kingdom.

There are two types of Pokharel in Nepal, Water (paani) Pokharel and Milk (dudh) Pokharel, Paani Pokharel belongs to Aatreya/Aatrya Gotra whereas Dudh Pokharel belongs to Bhardwaj gotra.^[1] Dudh Pokharel and Paani Pokharel do not have any blood relationship so there can be marriage relations between these Pokharels.

Some of the popular persons with Pokharel surnames are:

• Ishwor Pokhrel, General secretary of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
• Shankar Pokhrel (born 1964), central secretary of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
• Ram Chandra Pokhrel, Politician, Member of Constituent Assembly, Nepal
• Suman Pokhrel, poet, lyricist, translator, artist
• Sugam Pokharel, Nepali Pop Singer

References