Singh

History and Origins

The Singh surname arrived in South Africa with the first Indian indentured workers who were brought to the Colony of Natal from 1860 to work on the sugar plantations of the coastal belt. The colonial government of Natal, struggling to attract labour after emancipation, negotiated with the British Indian colonial government to import workers under five-year contracts — the indenture system.

Among the Punjabi, Sikh, and other North Indian communities aboard these ships, Singh was the standard male surname — a tradition established by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, when he initiated the Khalsa brotherhood and instructed all Sikh men to adopt Singh as a surname. Over centuries, the name spread beyond strictly Sikh communities across northern India.

The indentured workers who arrived in Natal came primarily from the United Provinces, Madras Presidency, and Bihar — many were Hindu rather than Sikh, but the Singh surname was widespread. They settled in the coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal, in Durban and the surrounding districts, and in the market gardening communities that supplied the growing colony.

A second wave of Indian settlers came as 'passenger Indians' — free migrants who paid their own passage and established themselves as traders and professionals, particularly in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, and later in the Transvaal. It was among this community that Mohandas Gandhi, who arrived in South Africa in 1893, first practised law and developed his philosophy of non-violent resistance.

Today the South African Indian community numbers approximately 1.3 million people, concentrated in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The Singh surname is among the most common in this community, carried by families whose roots trace back to indentured workers, passenger Indians, and more recent arrivals.

Notable Singh Bearers

• Thabo Mbeki (not Singh) — note: many prominent South Africans of Indian descent carry the Singh surname — too numerous to list individually
• Anant Singh — South African film producer, known for internationally recognised South African films including Cry, the Beloved Country
• Pravin Gordhan — though not a Singh, representative of the broader South African Indian political tradition in which Singh families played central roles

Genealogy Research Guide

South African Indian genealogical research begins with the Natal Indentured Labour records held at the KwaZulu-Natal Archives in Pietermaritzburg — these record the arrival ship, district of origin in India, and often the names of family members. The South African Sugar Association and the Natal Indian Congress archives hold community records. The Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal holds extensive documentation of the South African Indian community.