Loi

Loi is a Jat surname within the Sikh community ,from Panjab. They originally came from the South of the Indus Valley in Sindh in Pakistan and later on migrated to North-East Panjab region of India to the village Pandori Ganga Singh in Hoshairpur district.

Loi surname origin (There are several possibilities where Loi could have originated from) -

1. The word Loi in Punjabi means “shawl”, which is a blanket used to keep you warm, and means blanket or cover for protection in the Sindhi language (From the lower Indus Valley in Sindh).

2. The name Loi may have come from the festival Lal Loi (the Sindhi term for Lohri in Punjabi) from the south of the Indus Valley in Sindh, where all Jats originate from. Lal Loi or Lohri is associated with the end harvesting winter crops, and is associated with agriculture and farming. Farming and agriculture has always been the Jats and the Loi Jats main occupation. Lal Loi and Lohri is a significant time for the Jats, as it marks a new harvesting season.

3. The surname Loi may also be a shortened version of the Jat surname Malloi, which is the same as Malhi, (a Jat clan). It may be another variant of the Jat surname Loleri.

4. The surname Loi may have also been derived or be another form of the name Louis. Louis means “famous warrior”. Jat surnames often have translations and meanings similar to : Light of God”, “Protector of God”, “Warrior of God”, “crown”, “ruler” , “Warrior”, which is the same as what Louis means. Jats were also historically warriors, linking closely to the meaning of the name Louis. Louis is also said to have a variant form in the Persian language as “لویی”. Persian spoken by Iranians and there are places which are now in modern times, in Iran, where the Jats originated from. This all links up very closely to the Jats history and origins.

5. Loi could have originated from Burma, (Myanmar in modern times), specifically in the Shan Hills. There are several Loi mountains in Burma, such as Loi Pangnao, Loi San and Loi Leng. It is also said that some Jat tribes may have migrated to Burma. Jat clan names often originate from landmarks, such as rivers or mountains and villages. It is a possibility that Loi is from one of the Loi mountains.

6. Loi may come from the name of the village Loi Bazar in the district Mathura in Uttar Pradesh in, where other Jat clans such as Maan or Beniwal living in Muzaffarnagar. Mathura is the birth land of Lord Krishna who was a Jat. It is also said that some Jat clans have phonetic similarities with places or people from Mathura, such as the Madhur Jat clan. Jat clan names often originate from village names in Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, so there is also a high possibility that Loi originated from Loi Bazar village. Click the link to visit the page :

https://www.jatland.com/home/Mathura

The Lois are a small Jat clan known for being agriculturists .Their heritage is deeply associated with owning agricultural land and they have earned a reputation for being skilled farmer. They owned some of the healthiest farm animals in their village, specifically bullocks.

Other castes have tried to claim this surname however Loi was originally and always Jat.

In the year 1891 in the India census, the Loi Jats were recorded as a Jat clan

See this link here to see more: https://theloijats.weebly.com/