For the FM radio station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, see KAUR.

Kaur, which means "prince" in Punjabi, is widely used as a name by female Sikhs. As such, it is often translated as "princess". In Rajasthan 'Kuwar' (Sanskrit Kumāra) is commonly used to refer prince, and 'Kuwari' (sanskrit Kumāri) or 'Kunwar' is used for a princess (for example see Hira Kunwari). The tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, made it mandatory for Sikh females to use the name Kaur and for Sikh males to use the name Singh. Kaur provides Sikh women with a status equal to all men. This was also intended to reduce the prejudice created by caste-typing based on the family name. Prejudice based on caste was rampant during Guru Gobind's time (17th century). This particularly affected women who were expected to take their husband's family name upon marriage. The Guru Gobind Singh said, "You don’t have to take anybody else's name. You are an individual, you are a princess, and you keep Kaur as your last name.”

Some Sikhs today have chosen to retain their traditional caste-system family names in addition to the suffix Kaur or Singh, even though this defeats the purpose of Guru Gobind's mission in requiring a standardised naming system.

It is encouraged that all those of the Sikh faith should follow one faith and abolish the caste system as this was the whole point of using the surnames 'Singh' and 'Kaur', the other names should be their first name and 'Khalsa', meaning that person belongs to the Khalsa.

Other Uses

Kaur is also an Estonian male given name. ^*].

Links

• SikhWomen.com Kaur Significance
• Thakurani Chaman Kunwar
• Maharani Suraj Kanwar

Sikhism

Kaur