Nayar (name)

Nayar or Nayyar is a surname that is found among Khatri community which are majorly Hindus with a minority of Sikhs and Muslims. The belong to the "Sareen" division among the Khatris. They were mostly concentrated in the Majha region especially in the districts of Gujrat, Lahore, Okara, Nankana Sahib and Sialkot before 1947. Nayyar families were known to have been qanungos (governors) in the town of Kunjah in Gujrat district, Punjab.

As a custom, milk is never churned in Nayyar families because one of their ancestors died of drinking whey in which a snake had got accidentally churned.

Notable people

 * A. Nayyar (born 1950), Pakistani singer
 * Abdul Hameed Nayyar (born 1945), Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist
 * Abhishek Nayar (born 1983), Indian first-class cricketer
 * Ankur Nayyar (born 1967), Indian actor
 * Anuj Nayyar (1975–1999), Indian army officer
 * Deepak Nayyar (born 1946), Professor of Economics
 * Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar (1750-1814), General of the Sikh Empire, as well as his son Dewan Moti Ram (1770-1837) and grandsons Dewan Kirpa Ram (d. 1843) and Dewan Ram Dayal (d. 1820).Great great grandson Diwan Moolraj Nayyar. (D.1945)
 * Kuldip Nayar (born 1923), Indian journalist
 * Kunal Nayyar (born 1981), Indian-American actor
 * Nayyar Ali Dada (born 1943), Pakistani architect
 * Nayyar Ejaz, Pakistani actor
 * Nayyar Kamal (born 1953), Pakistani television actress
 * O. P. Nayyar (1926–2007), Indian film music director
 * Pyarelal Nayyar (1899–1982), her brother and Gandhi's other secretary
 * Rajat Nayyar / Roger Nair Canadian Film Maker and human rights activist
 * R. K. Nayyar (1930-1995), Indian director and producer
 * Shree K. Nayar, engineer and computer scientist
 * Suhail Nayyar, (b. 1989), Indian, Bollywood Actor.
 * Sushila Nayyar (1914–2000), Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary and physician
 * Falguni Nayar (born 1963), founder, CEO, Nykaa