List of Nayakars

Nayakar, Nayakkar, Nayaker , Naikar, Naidu or Naicker is a title commonly used in the southern part of India by Kannada, Tamil and Telugu speaking people, sometimes as a surname and in other cases as a caste affiliation. Nayakar has more sub branches inside their community. They ruled Andra Pradesh, Karnataka Tamilnadu, Tegulana.This title was historically bestowed upon vassals and army commanders of the Vijayanagara empire, and is a Dravidianized derivative of the Sanskrit term Nāyaka. The title is closely related to Naidu, Nayudu, Nayaka and Nayak. Nayak words contains prestigious meaningful terms Justice, Honesty, Fairness, Rightness, Hero, Country, Honour, Courage, Brave. Most of Cities, towns and villages names are ends at Nayak, Nayakanur in South India - Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In Telugu regions it refers to the Kapu (caste). Southern India splitand ruled under different Kings and Queens under Nayaks. Most of Temples, Forts Palaces, Pounds and Water management systems are constructed and also known as Golden Period of Southern India.

Notable people with the title include:

• E. V. Ramasami Naicker
• M. A. Manickavelu Naicker
• Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy
• Raghunatha Nayak
• Chokkanatha Nayak
• Tirumala Nayaka
• Rani Mangammal
• Queen Meenakshi