Srivastava

Srivastava, also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname found amongst the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha (also known as North-Indian Kayastha) community of upper caste Hindus   particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. The North Indian Kayasthas were powerful components of the upper-bureaucracy and made highly influential urban elites under Hindu kings.

Origin
Srivastavas are one of the twelve sub-clans of the North-Indian Kayasthas that were traditionally involved in record-keeping, administration and military services.

They consider themselves as a de facto varna that arose to keep records of the four varnas that came before them. Traditions and occupations associated with them, and their belief in the mythical roles assigned to Chitragupta, their progenitor, partly support this claim.

Most of the recorded history, after the 10th century AD, of this clan is centred around Varanasi and present day eastern Uttar Pradesh and central India, as being influential during ancient empires and Mughal empire in the Indian subcontinent, earning such titles as Pandit, Thakur and Lala.

Etymology
The title Śrīvāstava is the shortened form of Śrīvāstavya and thus derived directly from the Sanskrit root words Sri ( श्री ) "God" and  vas ( वस् ) "to dwell" by adding the primary suffix tavyat which denotes an agent and causes the lengthening of the radical vowel. While the word Sri is used in Sanskrit as honorific prefix to the names of deities  and vāstavya means "a resident, inhabitant"; thereby the whole meaning "in whom God dwells". Note, however, that a word's meaning is derived from its use in sentence, not from its etymology.

According to another explanation, the name "Srivastava" originates from "Srivastu/Suvastu", the former name of the Swat River, which is said to be the place of origin of this clan.

Notable people with this name
Notable people named Srivastava (or its variations) include:
 * Alankrita Shrivastava (born 1979), Indian filmmaker
 * Raju Srivastav (25 December 1963 - 21 September 2022), Indian comedian
 * Ramesh Srivastava (born 1983), American singer
 * Aditya Srivastava (born 1968), Indian actor
 * Anand & Milind Srivastava, Indian music directors
 * Aadesh Shrivastava (1966–2015), Indian music director
 * Kapil Srivastava, Indian guitarist, music composer, educationist & author
 * Aanjjan Srivastav (born 1948), Indian film, television and stage dancer/actor
 * Ajita Srivastava, Indian singer
 * Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1899–1973), Indian historian
 * Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (1920–2013), Indian diplomat
 * Chitragupt Shrivastava, Indian music director
 * Dheer Charan Srivastav (born 1967), Indian actor
 * Ganesh Prasad Srivastava (1933–2011), physicist, author
 * Hari Shankar Srivastava (1921-2017), Indian historian
 * Harish Chandra Srivastava, Indian politician
 * J. N. Srivastava (1933–2010), Indian mathematician
 * Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008, recorded by Allahabad University as "M.C. Shrivastava"), introduced Transcendental Meditation
 * Mansi Srivastava (born 1990), Indian TV actress
 * Nikhil Srivastava, Indian mathematician
 * Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011), founder of Sahaja Yoga
 * Onkar Nath Srivastava (born 1942), Indian physicist
 * Paul Shrivastava (born 1952), American academic
 * Rajendra Srivastava (born 1951), Indian academic
 * Sanjeev Srivastava, Indian journalist
 * Shailendra Nath Shrivastava (1936–2006), Indian politician
 * Tara Rani Srivastava, Indian woman freedom fighter


 * Notable Srivastavas who changed their name
 * Munshi Premchand (1880–1936, born Dhanpat Rai Srivastava), Indian writer
 * Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963), born as Rajendra Prasad Srivastava, first President of India
 * Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–1966), born as Lal Bahadur Srivastava, second Prime Minister of India
 * Amitabh Bachchan (born 1942), born as Amitabh Srivastava, Bollywood actor
 * Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907–2003), born as Harivansh Rai Srivastava, Indian poet
 * Natwarlal (1912–2009, born as Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava), Indian con man
 * Zamindaar Babu Trilok Nath (1866–1960, born Trilok Nath Srivastava), prince of British India
 * Jayaprakash Narayan (1902–1979, son of Harsu Dayal Srivastava), Indian independence activist, social reformer and political leader
 * Parichay Das (born Ravindra Nath Srivastava), Indian editor