Modi (surname)


Modi, alternatively spelled Mody, is a surname in India, most commonly found among people from the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The surname Modi doesn't belong to any particular community, and is distributed among various religions, including Hindus, Jains, Muslims and Parsis.
Modi or Mody is also an unrelated Nigerien surname, and an unrelated Serer and Bambara first name - found amongst the Serer community of Senegal and the Gambia, and the Bambara community of Mali and the Senegambia, in West Africa. In Bambara, Modi or Mody is derived from the name Modibo, which means "master" or "teacher". The name is thus synonymous with wisdom and knowledge as a first name in West Africa, particularly in the Senegambia region, especially those Senegambian tribes with a long history of resisting Islamization like the Serer, and to some extent, the Bambara. It should not be confused with the Wolof corruption of the Arabic name Muhammadou, Wolofized to Modou.

List

Notable people with the surname include: