Can you please tell me what is the difference between the “Naidoo” and the “Naidu” surnames. The older South African Tamils say that the “oo” is indicative of the Tamil-speaking Hindus and the “u” is indicative of the Telegu-speaking Hindus.

I met a guy from India at a restaurant in Durban, SA and he told me that “Naidu” is the only surname in India, there is no “Naidoo”. My theory on this is that the “oo’” variation would have arisen when our forefathers where brought to SA as indentured labourers and their English recipients spelt it incorrectly.

Can you please clarify this issue for me.

Thank you.

In India, Naidu is a Telugu name, though it’s also common among Tamils who claim Telugu ancestry from a few generations ago. Naidoo with an “oo” is found only in South Africa, where I believe it’s a Tamil name. I’m not an expert, but my guess is that a lot of Telugu Naidus migrated to Tamil lands within India and started identifying themsleves as Tamils, and then migrated to South Africa.