Patel, Patidar

The word ‘Patidar’ has now practically become extinct. The Patidars are now better known as Patel’s.

Patidar means "owner of land". ‘PATI’ means land and ‘DAR’ means the person who owns it.

Besides ‘Patel’,’Desai’, and ‘Amin’ are the two other surnames commonly found among the Patidars. Theoretically the difference between Desais or Amins on hand and Patels used to till their land themselves while Desais or Amins got others to do the job. Desais were Jagirdars, Amins too were Jagirdars, but they always remained pro-rules. The Patidars in Gujarat are divided in four sub-castes (1) the Kadavas (2) the Leuas (3) the Anjanas (4) the Matis.

Most of the Leua Patidars are found in Central Gujarat while Kadava Patidars are generally found in North Gujarat, espically, in Mehsana District. Many Anjana patidars have ‘Choudhry’ surname. They also use ‘sinh’ as suffix to their names.
The actual name is derivative of the word Patlika. The name was first used in Gujarat during the era of the Muslim Sultans (1412 AD to1573 AD). The headmen in the village were appointed by Sultans and were known as Mukhisa. Mukhi is a word derived from the Arabic word Mukta. Through time, these headmen became called Patel (derived from Patlik or Akshpatlik or Akshpatal).

Eventually even relatives and friends of Mukhis started calling themselves Patel. It seems as though the word came into use after 1400AD. Prior to this period, all Patels were known as Kanbis. The name Patel is a surname and not a caste. It is also used by certain other groups of people such as Brahmins, Vanias, Muslims, Harijans, Tailors and Cobblers. Although, the use of the name within these groups has declined in recent times. At present, the surname Patel is only used by Kanbi and so it is knows as their surname and not their cast.