SOUMYA SHETTY

Indian (Karnataka): Hindu and Jain name found among the people of the Bunt or Nadava community in coastal Karnataka; it derives from Sanskrit šreṣtbdot;hī, which refers to the head of a mercantile or other guild. Unlike bearers of the cognate names Seth and Setty, however, the Bunts are not a mercantile community; they are a land-owning and farming class in South Kanara, a coastal district of Karnataka. This name is also found among the Jains of this region.