Gowda

Gowda (also known as Gauda or Gouda) (Kannada: ಗೌಡ or Vokkaliga is a caste from Karnataka, India.

Gowda was originally a honorific used by the administrative head of a village. Typically, such a head owns lands and holds political and social power in the village.

Now, Gowda is also used as a hereditary surname by descendants of the village chiefs. Variants of the surname include Gowder or Gauder or Gowdar (usually in North Karnataka and Nilgiris) and Gowdru (honorific, plural).

According to a popular theory, the word Gowda derives from go, the Sanskrit word for cow. However, German Indologist Gustav Oppert derived it from a Dravidian word meaning "mountain".

The following is a list of notable people with last name Gowda

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Wikipedia