Srinivasan
An Indian surname and given-name-based family name meaning “of Srinivasa,” referring to a devotional name of Vishnu.
The #7,691 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,519 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Srinivasan is built from the Sanskrit honorific Sri and the divine name Srinivasa, an epithet of the god Vishnu. In literal terms, Srinivasa means something like “dwelling in wealth/prosperity” or “one who resides with Sri,” with Sri referring to auspiciousness, beauty, or the goddess Lakshmi. As a surname, Srinivasan typically means “descendant of,” “belonging to,” or “person associated with Srinivasa,” and it often arose from a father's or ancestor's given name rather than from a fixed hereditary surname in the older European sense.
History
The name is especially common among South Indian communities, where personal names built from devotional Sanskrit forms have long been used as family names in later records and diaspora settings. In modern usage it is widely borne by people from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam-speaking backgrounds, and it has become established internationally through migration. Because it is derived from a personal/devotional name, the surname can appear in multiple spelling and ordering traditions depending on region and administrative practice.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Srinivasa is also a well-known devotional name of the deity at Tirumala/Tirupati, one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in India.