Indian name
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Indian names are based on a variety of systems and the naming conventions vary with location and era. Originally the concept of second name does not exist in India, however modern legal systems have brought in the use of second names in a variety of forms that aim to reduce the possibility of name clashes.
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Given name
The name that is used in real life is the given name. Linguistic usage makes a distinction in some parts of India with the second name used to indicate respect. The names are often suffixed by '-ji' or '-saheb'/'-sahib' to additionally indicate respect.
Close relatives and friends would call others by just their given name. However in the case of married women, especially in rural India their name is entirely dropped and they are instead addressed as 'wife of'+husband name or 'mother of'+son/daughter name. In the case of overlap in given name among multiple people in a community, adjectives such as 'big'/'small', 'old'/'young' or nicknames may be used to distinguish them.
Caste / Tribe
Modern legal requirements have caused many peoples to use the caste names as the equalent of the second names. Examples of second names of this kind from southern India include 'Iyer', 'Iyengar', 'Nair', 'Naidu', 'Reddy', 'Gowda'
Calling / Profession
Some names are based on professions or callings. Professions were traditionally passed from generation to generation. The common name 'Kumar' is believed to be originally based on the potter 'Kumhar'. Another example is 'Gandhi', meaning 'grocer.'
Many social ranks were also hereditary. Names such as 'Talukdar', 'Tehsildar', 'Tarafdar' are based on social rank.
Clan names
Clan names are used only in small communities scattered around the country. The Chotta Nagpur tribals have animal deities with whom they claim kinship that are used as clan names. The Coorgis or Kodavas of south India also have clan names.
Geographic name
Some naming conventions use the village or town name to form the second name. For example Tendulkar in the name of the famous Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, refers to the name of a village.
Patronym
In southern India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala where caste symbols tend to be kept private, there is widespread usage of a patronymic; use of the father's given name as the second name. This means that the given name of one generation becomes the second name of the next. In many usages, this second name is used as an initial and the given name may appear like a second name.