Editing Singh (section)

{{Short description|Surname originating from Asia}}
{{For|a list of people with the surname|List of people with surname Singh}}
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{{Multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=300|caption_align=center
| image1 = Depiction of king Rana Sanga.jpg|caption1=Rajput ruler [[Rana Sanga|Rana Sangram Singh]] (1482-1528).
| image2 = Guru Gobind Singh creates the Khalsa.jpg|caption2=Creation of the [[Khalsa]] by Sikh Guru [[Gobind Singh]], 1699 CE.
| image3 = Portrait of mathabar singh thapa.jpg|caption3= [[Prime Minister of Nepal]] and [[Commander-in-Chief of the Nepalese Army]], [[Mukhtiyar]] [[Mathabar Singh Thapa]], (1843-1845) of the [[Chhetri]] [[Thapa dynasty]].
| image4 = Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh, 1888.jpg|caption4=Maharaja [[Lakshmeshwar Singh]] of [[Raj Darbhanga]] in [[Bihar]], published in Graphic Magazine, December 1888.
}}

'''Singh''' ([[Help:IPA|IPA]]: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|ŋ}} {{respell|SING}}) is a [[title]], [[middle name]], or [[surname]] that means "[[lion]]" in various [[South Asia]]n and [[Southeast Asia]]n communities. Traditionally used by the [[Hindu]] [[Kshatriya]] community,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanks |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vG7MZ9J6dAgC&pg=RA2-PA354 |title=Dictionary of American Family Names |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780199771691 |pages=354}}</ref> it was later mandated in the late 17th century by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] (born Gobind Das) for all male [[Sikhs]] as well, in part as a rejection of [[Caste system in India|caste]]-based prejudice<ref>{{cite book |author=James Minahan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=abNDLZQ6quYC&pg=PA289 |title=Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2012 |isbn=9781598846591 |pages=289 |quote=The use of the two names by baptized Sikhs was originally intended to end the prejudice created by names pertaining to the various Hindu castes}}</ref> and to emulate [[Rajput]] naming conventions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Atwal |first1=Priya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvcTEAAAQBAJ&dq=kaur&pg=PA34 |title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire |date=15 January 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-756693-0 |page=34 |quote=Singh was a common name utilised by Rajputs, the Hindu ruling or warrior caste.}}</ref><ref name="Oxford Handbook">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |date=2014-03-01 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Pashaura |pages=23 |language=en |chapter=An Overview of Sikh History |quote=The male members were given the surname Singh (lion) and female members were given the surname Kaur (princess), with the intention of creating a parallel system of aristocratic titles in relation to the Rajput hill chiefs of the surrounding areas of Anandpur. |editor-last2=Fenech |editor-first2=Louis E.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jakobsh |first=Doris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xY_XAAAAMAAJ |title=Sikhism and History |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566708-0 |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Pashaura |pages=176 |language=en |chapter=What's in a Name: Circumscribing Sikh Female Nomenclature |quote=As the term 'Singh' meaning 'lion' was adopted from the Rajputs, so too was the name 'Kaur' |editor-last2=Barrier |editor-first2=Norman Gerald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shackle |first=Christopher |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAg3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA722 |title=The World's Religions |date=2004-01-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-85185-8 |editor-last=Hardy |editor-first=Friedhelm |pages=722 |language=en |chapter=Sikhism |quote=The code of conduct (rahit) expected of all initiates of the Khalsa, as laid down by Guru Gobind Singh and subsequently eloborated, emphasises both the equality of its members and the martial spirit expected of them by awarding the Rajput titles of Singh ('lion') to men and Kaur ('princess') to women, irrespective of caste origin. |editor-last2=Houlden |editor-first2=Leslie}}</ref> As a surname or a middle name, it is now found throughout the world across communities and religious groups, becoming more of a generic, caste-neutral, decorative name—similar to names such as [[Kumar]] and [[Lal]].<ref name="Adhikari">{{Cite book |last1=Adhikari |first1=Krishna P. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOF1DwAAQBAJ&dq=singh+casteless&pg=PT128 |title=Global Nepalis: Religion, Culture, and Community in a New and Old Diaspora |last2=Sapkota |first2=Bhimsen |date=2018-06-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-909337-3 |editor-last=Gellner |editor-first=David N. |language=en |chapter=Fiji Nepals: Reviving Connections Lost for Over a Century |quote=In the process of forming a casteless society, many first generation Nepalis (and Indians) changed their surnames to Singh, which is a neutral and now common surname. |editor-last2=Hausner. |editor-first2=Sondra L.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Deshpande |first=Ashwini |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vQtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39 |title=The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India |date=2011-08-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-908846-1 |language=en |chapter=Theories of Discrimination and Caste |quote=Some individuals often drop their surnames and use generic names such as Kumar, Lal, Singh, or Chowdhary that are not jati specific.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfAMAQAAMAAJ | title=Communities, segments, synonyms, surnames and titles | publisher=[[Anthropological Survey of India]] | author=Kumar Suresh Singh | author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh | year=1996 | isbn=9780195633573 |page=32 |quote=Going by the usage, Singh is more a title than a surname, cutting across communities and religious groups. }}</ref>