Sri Lanka Naming Customs

Online Tools

 * Behind the Name: Tamil Surnames
 * Behind the Name: Tamil Given Names

Surnames
Sinhalese constitute the largest ethnic group in the country, with 74.8% of the total population. Sri Lankan Tamils are the second major ethnic group in the island, with a percentage of 11.2%.

Sinhalese

 * The common order of names in Sinhalese:
 * house/clan name + personal name(s) [+ family name]
 * e.g. Kaluhandhilage Hemachandra SILVA


 * The Sinhalese house/clan name ends in GE, e.g. Kaluhandhilage:
 * GE is often connected to the name of the house/clan by the word LA, so the name will frequently end in LAGE
 * the GE name is passed down between generations of a family, regardless of gender
 * the GE name is often abbreviated to an initial
 * the GE name could be omitted altogether, which is an increasingly common practice among the younger urbanised Sinhalese generation.


 * Most of the urbanised Sinhalese population will have an additional family name. It is less common in the names of rural inhabitants who may simply use the prefixed GE name and one or more personal names, e.g. Pathirannahelage Piyaseeli.

For example, Kaluhandhilage Hemachandra SILVA would be Hemachandra from the house (GE) of Kaluhandhi and of the family SILVA. He could also be known as:
 * a. K. Hemachandra SILVA (GE name initialled);
 * b. K. Hemachandra (GE name initialled, no family name);
 * c. Hemachandra SILVA (GE name omitted).

e.g. if Pathirannahelage Piyaseeli married Kaluhandhilage Hemachandra SILVA, she would become Pathirannahelage Piyaseeli SILVA.
 * Sinhalese women typically adopt the family surname of their husband upon marriage but retain their GE name:
 * Children typically adopt their father’s house/clan name and family name.

Unique characteristics

 * The following naming practices should also be noted:
 * a. some common Sinhalese family names are derived from Portuguese family names, due to past Portuguese colonisation: e.g. SILVA, FERNANDO, PEREIRA;
 * b. other family names are derived from Sinhalese: e.g. AMARASINGHE, TENNEKOON;
 * c. common beginnings to Sinhalese family names include:
 * JAYA- e.g. JAYASENA
 * GUNE- / GUNA- / GOONA- e.g. GUNERATNE / GOONERATNE
 * AMERA- / AMARA- e.g. AMARAWEERA
 * d. common endings to Sinhalese family names include:
 * -RATNE e.g. SENAVIRATNE
 * -WARDENE / -WARDENA e.g. GUNAWARDENE
 * -SEKERA e.g. JAYASEKERA
 * -TILLEKE e.g. GUNATILLEKE
 * -SUREYA e.g. AMERASUREYA
 * -SENA e.g. SIRISENA
 * -NAYAKE e.g. DISSANAYAKE
 * e. another common element of Sinhalese names is WEERA, either at the beginning or end of a name: e.g. WEERARATNE, SAMARAWEERA.
 * f. some Sinhalese names can be used as both a family name and a personal name: e.g. SIRISENA / S

For Further Reading

 * A GUIDE TO NAMES AND NAMING PRACTICES, UK Names Guide