Puri is an Indian Punjabi surname of Kshatriya Varna derived from a Chandravanshi Indo Aryan Puru tribe of King Porus.
The Dictionary of American Family Names notes that puri means a small town in Punjabi but it is uncertain whether this is related to the surname.[1] Another theory derives it from the Purus,[2][3] the mythological Indo-Aryan tribe.
Buddha Prakash, professor of history and of Ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology, director of the Institute of Indic Studies, said:
The Purus settled between the Asikni and the Parusni, whence they launched their onslaught on the Bharatas, and after the initial rebuff in the Dasarajna War, soon regrouped and resumed their march on the Yamuna and the Sarasvati and subsequently merged with the Bharatas, Some of their off-shoots lingered on in the Punjab and one of their scions played a notable part in the events of the time at Alexander's invitation. They probably survived in the Punjab under the name of Puri, which is a sub-caste of the Khatris.[2]
Bankers
[edit]- Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank Limited
- K. R. Puri, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, former MD at LIC India
Businessmen and managers
[edit]- Amit Puri (born 1979), Indian chef and entrepreneur
- Aroon Purie (born 1944), Indian businessman and the founder & editor in chief of India Today
- Deepak Puri, founder of Moser Baer
- Madhabi Puri (born 1965), chairperson of the securities regulatory body Securities and Exchange Board of India
- Ratul Puri (born 1972), chairman of the board of directors of Hindustan Power
Film actors
[edit]- Aarti Puri (born 1985), Indian actress and model
- Akanksha Puri, Indian actress and model
- Amrish Puri (1932–2005), Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
- Amrita Puri (born 1983), Bollywood film actress
- Chaman Puri (1914–1988), Indian actor
- Koel Purie, Indian actress, producer and TV presenter
- Madan Puri (1915–1985), Bollywood film actor
- Mayur Puri, Indian screenwriter, lyricist, actor and film-maker
- Neeta Puri, Indian actress and model
- Om Puri (1950–2017), Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
- Pearl V Puri (born 1989), Indian television actor
- Preeti Puri, Indian actress
- Rajesh Puri, Indian actor
- Satyajeet Puri (born 1960), Indian actor
- Shashi Puri, Indian actor
- Vardhan Puri (born 1990), Indian actor
- Vibhu Puri (born 1980), Indian film director, writer and lyricist
Independence activists and martyrs
[edit]- Ram Nath Puri (1881–1974), Indian freedom fighter best known as the editor of Circular-i-Azadi
- Haqiqat Rai Puri (1720–1734), 14 year old martyr
Journalists and authors
[edit]- Balraj Puri (1928–2014), Journalist, writer and human rights activist
- Belle Puri, Canadian journalist
- Kailash Puri (1925–2017), Indian writer, poet and yoga teacher
- Kavita Puri, British journalist, radio broadcaster, and author
- Narottam Puri (born 1946), Indian sports journalist and broadcaster
- Pratima Puri (died 2007), Indian journalist best known for being Doordarshan's first newsreader
- Rajinder Puri (1934–2015), Indian cartoonist, veteran columnist and political activist
Politicians
[edit]- Hardeep Singh Puri (born 1952), Indian cabinet minister
- Lakshmi Puri (born 1952), Indian diplomat and former assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and the former deputy executive director of UN Women.
- Manjeev Singh Puri (born 1959), Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service cadre and the former Ambassador of India to Nepal
- Naresh Puri (born 1970), Indian politician
- Raghunath Sahai Puri (1938–2007), Indian politician and Minister for Housing & Urban Development in Punjab Government
- Ranjeev Puri (born 1984), American state representative
Singers
[edit]- Sanam Puri, lead vocalist of the independent music band SANAM, and Bollywood singer
- Samar Puri, guitarist in the band SANAM, popularly known as 'Flying Guitarist'; the sibling of Sanam Puri
Science and academia
[edit]- Baij Nath Puri (1916–1996), Indian historian and author
- Harish Puri (born 1938), Indian political scientist and historian
- Ishwar Puri (born 1959), Indian-American and Canadian scientist, engineer, and academic
- Jyoti Puri, professor of sociology at Simmons University
- Madan Lal Puri (born 1929), Indian-American mathematician and statistician
- Manju Puri, Indian-American economics professor at Duke University and editor at the Review of Financial Studies. Currently he is the director of the American Finance Association.
- Munish Chander Puri (1939–2005), professor emeritus of mathematics at IIT Delhi
- Neel Kamal Puri (born 1956), Indian author and teacher
- Ruchir Puri, Indian American scientist
- Sanjay Puri (born 1961), Indian statistical physicist
Spirituality
[edit]- Harbhajan Singh Puri (1929–2004), spiritual director of the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization)
Sports
[edit]- Abhinav Puri (born 1944), Indian cricketer
- Devraj Puri (1916–1971), Indian cricketer
- Gaurav Puri (born 1991), Indian cricketer
- Indu Puri (born 1953), Indian table tennis player
- Rishi Puri, Indian Sudoku champion
- Sangeeta Puri (born 1979), Indian Olympic swimmer
- Sunita Puri (died 2020), Indian field hockey player
Army
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Hanks, Patrick (2013). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b Prakash, Buddha (1964). Political and Social Movements in Ancient Panjab. Delhi, Patna, Varanasi: M. Banarsidass. p. 77.
- ^ Kosambi, Damodar Dharmananda (1966). Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation. Delhi: Pantheon Books. pp. 81–83.
This page lists people with the surname Puri.
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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.