Nayak, or Naik, or Nayaka is a historic Indian title conferred on military captains and governors of feudal states in the Middle Ages.[1] Today it is also a surname. Nayaks are mostly Hindu and a few belong to other religions.
As a title
Today, the surname Naik or Nayaka or Naiker is used by various castes and ethnic groups across India. Mostly they follow Hinduism.[2]
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, other versions of the name such as Naik or Nayaka or Naicker exist. Nayak is used as a title by people belonging to Kapu/Balija, Velama, Kamma communities. Mostly it is adopted by Kshatriya community. Here, Naik is adopted as a surname by communities like Bedar.[3] Some Telugu castes also use a variant like Naicker as title.[4][5][6]
^Journal of Indian History - Volume 85. Department of History, University of Kerala. 2006. p. 181. Naidu is a title assumed by a number of Telugu castes such as Balija, Bestha, Boya, Ekari, Gavara, Golla, Kaingi, Kamma, Kapu, Mutracha and Velama. They had migrated from Telugu country during the Vijayanagar rule.
^Edgar Thurston, ed. (1909). Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume V of VII. Library of Alexandria. ISBN978-1-4655-8240-9. Naidu.— Naidu or Nāyudu is a title, returned at times of census by many Telugu classes, e.g., Balija, Bestha, Bōya, Ēkari, Gavara, Golla, Kālingi, Kāpu, Mutrācha, and Velama. A Tamilian, when speaking of a Telugu person bearing this title, would call him Naicker or Naickan instead of Naidu
^Hardiman, David; Hardiman, Professor of History David (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. pp. 221: The Koli country was then known as the Bavan Mavals, or '52 valleys' in Maratha Empire. Each valley was controlled by a Koli chief, or nayak. The sirnayak, or head chief, lived at Junnar, and presided over the gotarni, or caste council. ISBN978-0-19-563956-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^L. K. A. Iyer (2005). The Mysore Tribes and Castes. Vol. 3. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 270. Gauda and Naika are the titles affixed to their names , and the common honorific suffixes Appa and Ayya for males and Avva and Akka for females are also in use
^B. N. Sri Sathyan, ed. (1975). Karnataka State Gazetteer: Shimoga(PDF). Karnataka (India): Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. p. 102. Some Vokkaliga families also have surnames like Nayak and Heggade in this district.