Srivastava
Srivastava (; ), also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname mainly found amongst the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community of upper caste Hindus particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. Origin. Srivastavas are one of the twelve sub-clans of the Chitraguptvanshi Kayasthas that were traditionally involved in record-keeping, administration and military services. They regard 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 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 "vás" (वास्) "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". 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: