Rai (surname)

Rai (Hindi: राय; Urdu: رائے‎; Bengali: রায়; Nepali: राई)^[1] is a surname in use since historical times on the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically the term is inherited from (Śaurasenī Prākṛta) Shauraseni: 𑀭𑀸𑀬, romanized: rāya, from Sanskrit: राजन्, romanized: rājan. Rai is a doublet with the Hindi: राजा, romanized: rājā: both words—raja and rai—mean 'king' in Hindi.

^ Turner, Ralph Lilley (1962–1966). "rā́jan". A Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages. London: Oxford University Press. p. 618. Entry: 10679. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022 – via University of Chicago Digital South Asia Library (DSAL) and the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia (DDSA).

[1] Turner, Ralph Lilley (1962–1966). "rā́jan". A Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages. London: Oxford University Press. p. 618. Entry: 10679. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022 – via University of Chicago Digital South Asia Library (DSAL) and the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia (DDSA).

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