Cherian/Cheriyan is a Syrian Christian surname of Semitic (Hebrew-Aramaic) origin, presumed to be a derivative of Zecharya (Zacharias or Zechariah) and a variant of Zacharias popular among the Christian community of Kerala, southern India. The final -n is the Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix.
In India it is mostly found only as a given name although this trend is changing in the present generations, but in the United States and United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, and also Indian states other than Kerala, it is also used as a family name among expatriate families from Kerala. [1] [2]
The generally accepted explanation is that this name is of Semitic (Hebrew-Aramaic) origin, presumed to be a derivative of Zecharya (Zacharias or Zechariah) and a variant of Zacharias. This is supported by the fact that Kerala was one of the chief centers for ancient spice trading between the West and East and there was a historic Nasrani community with religious, linguistic, cultural and genetic connections to the Levant and Middle East. The final -n is the typical Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix.
There is an alternative hypothesis suggesting an Armenian origin for the name. This relies on the empirical observation that a name ending with ian is highly probable to be an Armenian name. The original candidate Armenian name is Khatcherian which means "follower or son of the Cross". This theory also takes support from the fact that there has been significant presence of Armenians in India, especially Chennai and Kolkata, who migrated to India to escape persecution from Turkey. [3]
Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was designated a "Classical Language of India" in 2013, citing its 2,500 years of continuous usage. Malayalam has official language status in Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé), and is also the primary spoken language of Lakshadweep. Malayalam is spoken by 35 million people in India. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with a significant number of speakers in the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. It is also spoken by the Malayali Diaspora worldwide, especially in the Persian Gulf countries, due to the large populations of Malayali expatriates there. They are a significant population in each city in India including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad etc.
Pillai or Pillay, meaning "Child of King" (Prince) or "Child", is a surname found among the Malayalam and Tamil-speaking people of India and Sri Lanka.
Chengannur is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located 37 km (23.0 mi) south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about 98 km (60.9 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Chengannur has a population of 23,466 people, and a population density of 1,607/km2 (4,160/sq mi).
Variyar is a Hindu Ambalavasi caste in Kerala, India.
Viswanathan is a male given name in South India and Sri Lanka. Due to the South Indian tradition of using patronymic surnames it may also be a surname for males and females. It is of Hindu origin and derives from višvanatha, meaning "lord of the universe", + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n.
Nabataean Aramaic is the extinct Aramaic variety used in inscriptions by the Nabataeans of the East Bank of the Jordan River, the Negev, and the Sinai Peninsula. Compared with other varieties of Aramaic, it is notable for the occurrence of a number of loanwords and grammatical borrowings from Arabic or other North Arabian languages.
Titus II Mar Thoma XVI was the Metropolitan of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church with its center in Kerala state in south-western India. He was known as Thithoos Dwitheeyan Mar Thoma Metropolitan among his people.
Mar Thoma VII was a Bishop of the Malankara Church from 1796 and the 7th Malankara Metropolitan from April 1808 to July 1809. Born in Pakalomattom family in Kurichithanam, Pala, he was well known as an efficient administrator, deeply religious but was a quiet and reserved person. During his time, a difficult period in the history of Travancore State, the church was able to help Travancore government by depositing an amount as fixed deposit, which came to be known as Vattipanam.
Mar Thoma IX was the ninth Metropolitan of the Malankara Church in Kerala, India for a brief period in 1816. That year, he was consecrated Metropolitan by Mar Thoma VIII, but soon after his ordination he was dethroned by Pulikkottil Joseph who was appointed by the then British resident Colonel John Munroe.
Mar Dionysius II, born Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop was 10th Malankara Metropolitan for nine months until his death on 24 November 1816. He dethroned Mar Thoma IX and succeeded him by the favour of Col.John Munroe, then British Resident of Travancore. Despite the brevity of his reign he made lasting contributions to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
Kattakayam Cherian Mappillai (1859–1936) was an Indian poet and playwright of Malayalam literature. He was known for the epic poem Shreeyeshu Vijayam, which earned him the title of Mahakavi. He was the founder editor of Vijnaana Rathnaakaram, one of the earliest literary magazines in Malayalam language. Pope Pius XI presented him a gold medal in 1931.
Pesaha appam or Kurisappam is a firm rice cake made by the Christians of Kerala, India, to be served on the night of Maundy Thursday (Pesaha). It is made from rice batter like palappam, but is not fermented with yeast in its preparation. A cross is made using the palm leaves from Palm Sunday, and placed in the middle of the batter.
Zechariah, with many variant forms and spellings such as Zachariah and Zacharias, is a theophoric masculine given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God/YHWH remembers". It comes from the Hebrew root זכר, meaning to remember, and yah, one of the names of the God of Israel. Though Zechariah is the original transliteration of the name and used in the English translation of the Book of Zechariah, Zachariah, spelled with the letter A instead of the letter E, is more popular, with a common diminutive being Zach. Due to its religious significance, variants of the name exist in numerous languages, and it is also used as a monastic or papal name.
Kurien is a male given name and family name common amongst the traditional aristocratic Saint Thomas Christians and Syrian Christians in Kerala, India.
Raghavan is a South Indian name. It derives from the Sanskrit raghava, meaning "derived from Raghu" or "descendant of Raghu", plus the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n. Although it is used as a given name in India it has also come to be used as a family name in the United States.
Suriyani Malayalam, also known as Karshoni, Syro-Malabarica or Syriac Malayalam, is a dialect of Malayalam written in a variant form of the Syriac alphabet which was popular among the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala in India. It uses Malayalam grammar, the Maḏnḥāyā or "Eastern" Syriac script with special orthographic features, and vocabulary from Malayalam and East Syriac. This originated in the South Indian region of the Malabar Coast. Until the 19th century, the script was widely used by Syrian Christians in Kerala.
Cherian K.Cherian is a Malayalam–language poet from Kerala state, South India. His collection of poems titled Cheriyan K. Cheriyante Thiranjedutha Kavithakal received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 2007. His other works include Pavizhapputtu, Airavatham, Kushanum Lavanum Kuchelanum and Bhranthanum Bhasmasuranum. His oeuvre also includes numerous Haiku poems in Malayalam.