Editing Gupta (section)

==Origins and distribution==
The name is based on the [[Sanskrit]] word [[wikt:गोप्तृ#Sanskrit|गोप्तृ]] ''goptṛ'', which means "guardian" or "protector".<ref>[http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/g/bl_name-GUPTA.htm GUPTA - Surname Meaning | Origin for the Surname Gupta Genealogy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014213422/http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/g/bl_name-GUPTA.htm |date=14 October 2013 }}. Genealogy.about.com (14 July 2013). Retrieved on 18 July 2013.</ref> 

According to historian [[R. C. Majumdar]], the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by several different communities in northern and eastern India at different times.<ref>{{cite book |last=Majumdar |first=Ramesh Chandra |author2=Anant Sadashiv Altekar |title=Vakataka Gupta Age: circa 200–550 A.D |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ |year=1986 |isbn=81-208-0026-5 |page=126}}</ref> 

The Rāmpāl plate of the [[Chandra dynasty]] ruler [[Srichandra]] mentions a line of [[Brahmin]]s who had Gupta as their surname.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Girindra Mohan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pdk3wIkSNKoC |title=Early History of Bengal |date=1984 |pages=47 |language=en |quote=The Rampāl plate of Sri Chandra reveals a line of Brāhmanas whose surnames end in Gupta (Sarman). No such Brāhmanas are met within the modern Bengal. Where have they gone? Have they too, like the Sena-Karnatakshatriyas, merged into the present Vaidya caste of Bengal?}}</ref> In [[Bengal]] region, the surname is found among [[Baidya]]s (mainly)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sahay |first1=Keshari N. |title=Ambastha Kayastha: The Evolution of a Family and Its Socio-cultural Dimensions |year=2001 |publisher=Commonwealth Publishers |isbn=978-81-7169-660-4 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWpuAAAAMAAJ&q=gupta%20surname%20in%20bengal |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=বাঙালির পদবি, উদয় চট্টোপাধ্যায়, পরবাস-৭৬|url=https://www.parabaas.com/PB76/LEKHA/pUday76.shtml|access-date=15 June 2021|website=www.parabaas.com|issn=1563-8685}}</ref> as well as [[Bengali Kayastha|Kayasthas]].<ref name="Indenp40">{{cite book |author=Ronald. B. Inden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P8b9A7J_v-UC&pg=PA40 |title=Marriage and Rank in Bengali Culture : A History of Caste and Clan in Middle Period Bengal |date=January 1976 |isbn=9780520025691 |page=40| publisher=University of California Press }}</ref>

According to Tej Ram Sharma, the name ''[[Gupta (king)|Sri Gupta]]'', "Sri" serves as an honorific title, similar to its usage for other [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] emperors mentioned in inscriptions. If the first ruler's name had indeed been ''Sri Gupta'', it would likely have been recorded as ''Sri Sri Gupta'', as seen in the [[Deo Barunark|Deo-Barnark]] inscription of Jivitagupta II, where the name ''[[Shrimati|Srimati]]'' appears in a similar format. Therefore, if ''Gupta'' is accepted as the personal name of the dynasty's founder, it would indicate that the Gupta suffix did not function as a surname during that period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Tej Ram |url=https://archive.org/details/personalgeograph00sharuoft/page/14/mode/1up |title=Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions |date=1978 |publisher=Delhi : Concept. |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |page=14}}</ref>

The Gupta surname is also used by [[Bania (caste)|Banias]] and [[Jainism|Jains]] in the northern part of India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanks |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vG7MZ9J6dAgC |title=Dictionary of American Family Names: 3-Volume Set |date=8 May 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-508137-4 |pages=103 |language=en}}</ref>