Kaul (also spelled Koul; ) is a Kashmiri surname that is used by the Kashmiri Pandit community in India.
The word Koul, meaning well born, is derived from Kula, the Sanskrit term for family or clan.
Origins
There are several theories regarding the origins of Kaul as a surname.
Koul from Mahakoul
One says that it is associated with the word Mahakoul, an epithet for Shiva. Shiva followers were thus called Kaula. Koul therefore means a devotee of Shiva.
Koul/Kaul from Shakta worship
Another states that since the Saraswat Brahmins of Kas'mira were believers in Shaivism and Shakta, the peak of Shaivism in Kashmir around the 9th–12th century gave rise to use of the name. This has led many scholars to believe that almost all Kashmiri Pandits were Kauls/Koul and they were later subdivided into different nicknames, then with the passage of time these nicknames became surnames. In recent years the use of the nicknames is being progressively discarded and the surname Kaul/Koul is being adopted by almost all such people. The word Kaul/Koul is associated with being an aghoreshwara or enlightened. The practitioners (sadhaks) of the Tantra, associated with Shakti worship, are believed to reach the top of the spiritual ladder, and thus become a Kaul/Koul.
Notable people with Kaul surname
Anita Kaul (1954–2016), Indian Administrative Service officer
Bansi Kaul (born 1949), Indian writer and theatre director
Bharat Kaul, Bengali Actor
Brij Mohan Kaul, commanded the Indian forces in the Sino-Indian War
Ekta Kaul (born 1987), Indian television actress
Hari Kishan Kaul (1869–1942), Kashmiri politician and author
Josh Kaul (b. 1980), 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin
Kailas Nath Kaul (1905–1983), Indian botanist and agricultural scientist, brother of Kamala Kamala Kaul Nehru (1899–1936), Indian freedom fighter and wife of first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru Kanchi Kaul, Indian TV actress and model Krishna Kaul , Indian rapper, known as KR$NA, and formerly as Prozpekt Mahendra Kaul (1922–2018), British BBC broadcaster and television presenter Manav Kaul, Indian theatre director, playwright, actor and film-maker Mani Kaul (1944–2011), Indian film director Manohar Kaul (1925–1999), Indian painter Matthias Kaul (1949–2020), German musician P. K. Kaul (1929-2007), ambassador of India to the United States (1986–1989) Raj Kaul, Nehru family patriarch Robert H. Kaul (1911–2000), Associate Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court Siddarth Kaul (born 1990), Indian cricketer, medium pace bowler Sheila Kaul (1915–2015) Indian politician, cabinet minister S. K. Kaul (born 1934), Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Chief of Air Staff (India) 1993–1995 Triloki Nath Kaul (1913–2000), Indian diplomat, Indian Foreign Secretary 1967–1972 V. N. Kaul (born 1943), Indian civil servant, Comptroller and Auditor General 2002–2008 Sanjay Kaul (born 1962), Indian businessman and founder of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies Sanjay Kishan Kaul (b.1958), Judge, Supreme Court of India and former lawyer