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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Indian (Kerala) : Hindu (Nayar) name denoting membership of the Nayar community, which is from Malayalam nāyar ‘leader’, ‘lord’, ‘soldier’ (from Sanskrit nāya(ka) ‘leader’ + the honorific plural ending -r). The Nayars were regarded as protectors of the land.
  • Northern Irish : reduced form of McNair.

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