Unni (Indian name)

Unni is used as a first name in Kerala, India. In the Malayalam language, it is also used as an adjective meaning an infant boy. Thus, Unnikrishnan or Unnikannan means Lord Krishna in the infant form and Unniyesu means Yesu (Jesus in Malayalam) in the infant form. The word is also the name of a caste among Hindus in the Southern India State of Kerala.

Surname
The name Unni is also used as a surname by various sub-groups of Pushpaka Brahmins like Pushpakanunnis, Theeyattunnis and Pattarunnis (Karappuram Unni or Nattuppattar). There is a common belief that Unnis are sub-divided into Pushpakanunnis, Theeyattunnis and Pattarunnis. In fact these are entirely different communities in a common class of Kerala Brahmins and there were no inter caste marriages among these communities anciently.

History
Thiyattunnis were traditionally the performers of an ancient art form called Tīyāttu. The famous Malayalam writer Kottarathil Sankunni was a Tīyāttunni whereas famous essayist D. Padmanabhan Unni was a Pushpakanunni. Thiyattunnis have the right for Tantric Poojas and other privileges enjoyed by the Nambudiri caste.

People
Notable people with name/surname Unni include:
 * Unni Mary, Indian film actress and producer
 * Unni Menon, Indian film playback singer
 * Unni Mukundan (born 1987), Indian film actor
 * Unni R. (born Jayachandran Parameswaran in 1971), Indian writer
 * Divya Unni (born 1981), Indian actress of Malayalam and Tamil  films
 * E. P. Unny, Indian political cartoonist.
 * K. S. Neelakantan Unni (1895–1980), Sanskrit scholar, compiled many legends about temples, famous persons, etc. and translated Kalidasa's Shakuntalam to Malayalam
 * Kottarathil Sankunni, Malayalam writer
 * M. K. Unni Nayar (1911–1950), Indian journalist
 * Monisha Unni (1971–1992), Indian film actress
 * P. Unni, Indian politician
 * P. Unnikrishnan (born 1966), Carnatic vocalist and playback singer
 * R. S. Unni (1925–1999), Indian politician
 * Urmila Unni, Indian dancer and actress
 * Utthara Unni, Indian film actress
 * Varun Unni, Indian film composer and singer
 * Vidhya Unni, Indian film actress
 * Narayanan Parameswaran Unni (1936-), Sanskrit scholar, former Vice-Chancellor of the Sri Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Kerala (1996 – 2000)
 * Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Indian Army Officer
 * B. Unnikrishnan, Indian (Kerala) Movie director
 * Suhas Unni, Indian-Canadian Handshake Specialist