Puri (surname)

Puri is an Indian Punjabi Surname of Kshatriya Varna derived from a Chandravanshi Indo Aryan Puru tribe of King Porus.

The Dictionary of American Family Names notes that puri means a small town in Punjabi but it is uncertain whether this is related to the surname. Another theory derives it from the Purus, the mythological Indo-Aryan tribe.

Buddha Prakash, professor of history and of Ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology, director of the Institute of Indic Studies, said:

"The Purus settled between the Asikni and the Parusni, whence they launched their onslaught on the Bharatas, and after the initial rebuff in the Dasarajna War, soon regrouped and resumed their march on the Yamuna and the Sarasvati and subsequently merged with the Bharatas, Some of their off-shoots lingered on in the Punjab and one of their scions played a notable part in the events of the time at Alexander's invitation. They probably survived in the Punjab under the name of Puri, which is a sub-caste of the Khatris."

Bankers

 * Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank Limited
 * K. R. Puri, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, former MD at LIC India

Businessmen and Managers

 * Amit Puri, Indian chef and entrepreneur
 * Aroon Purie, Indian businessman and the founder & editor in chief of India Today
 * Deepak Puri, founder of Moser Baer
 * Madhabi Puri, chairperson of the securities regulatory body Securities and Exchange Board of India
 * Ratul Puri, Chairman of the Board of Director of Hindustan Power

Film actors

 * Aarti Puri, Indian actress and model
 * Akanksha Puri, Indian actress
 * Akash Puri, Indian actor
 * Amrish Puri, Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
 * Amrita Puri, Bollywood film actress
 * Chaman Puri (1914-1988), Indian actor
 * Koel Purie, Indian actress, producer and TV presenter
 * Madan Puri, Bollywood film actor
 * Mayur Puri, Indian screenwriter, lyricist, actor and film-maker
 * Neeta Puri, Indian actress and model
 * Om Puri, Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
 * Pearl V Puri, Indian television actor
 * Preeti Puri, Indian actress
 * Rajesh Puri, Indian actor
 * Satyajeet Puri, Indian actor
 * Shashi Puri, Indian actor
 * Vardhan Puri, Indian actor
 * Vibhu Puri, Indian film director, writer and lyricist

Independence activists and martyrs

 * Ram Nath Puri, Indian freedom fighter best known as the editor of Circular-i-Azadi
 * Haqiqat Rai Puri, 14 year old martyr

Journalists

 * Balraj Puri, Journalist, writer and human rights activist
 * Belle Puri, Canadian journalist
 * Kavita Puri, British journalist, radio broadcaster, and author
 * Narottam Puri, Indian sports journalist and broadcaster
 * Pratima Puri, Indian journalist best known for being Doordarshan's first newsreader
 * Rajinder Puri, Indian cartoonist, veteran columnist and political activist

Politicians

 * Hardeep Singh Puri, Indian cabinet minister
 * Lakshmi Puri, former assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and the former deputy executive director of UN Women.
 * Manjeev Singh Puri, Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service cadre and the former Ambassador of India to Nepal
 * Raghunath Sahai Puri, Minister for Housing & Urban Development in Punjab Government
 * Ranjeev Puri, American state representative

Singers

 * Sanam Puri, lead vocalist of the independent music band SANAM, and Bollywood singer
 * Samar Puri, guitarist in the band SANAM, popularly known as 'Flying Guitarist'; the sibling of Sanam Puri

Science and academia

 * Baij Nath Puri, Indian historian and author
 * Harish Puri, Indian political scientist and historian
 * Ishwar Puri, Indian-American and Canadian scientist, engineer, and academic
 * Jyoti Puri, professor of sociology at Simmons University
 * Madan Lal Puri, Indian-American mathematician and statistician
 * Manju Puri, Indian-American economics professor at Duke University and editor at the Review of Financial Studies. Currently he is the director of the American Finance Association.
 * Munish Chander Puri, professor emeritus of mathematics at IIT Delhi
 * Neel Kamal Puri, Indian author and teacher
 * Ruchir Puri, Indian American scientist
 * Sanjay Puri, Indian statistical physicist

Spirituality

 * Harbhajan Singh Puri, spiritual director of the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization)

Sports

 * Abhinav Puri, Indian cricketer
 * Akshay Puri, Singaporean cricketer
 * Devraj Puri (1916-1971), Indian cricketer
 * Gaurav Puri, Indian cricketer
 * Indu Puri, Indian table tennis player
 * Rishi Puri, Indian Sudoku champion
 * Sangeeta Puri, Indian Olympic swimmer
 * Sunita Puri, Indian field hockey player