Selvadurai

Selvadurai is a Tamil name used as both a surname and, less commonly, a given name within Tamil-speaking communities in Sri Lanka and the Tamil diaspora. In Tamil naming practices, surnames often function as patronymics, reflecting family lineage rather than a fixed clan surname, and Selvadurai is typically carried across generations in diaspora communities as a family name.

The form is common among Sri Lankan Tamils, as well as Tamils in India and abroad, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Etymology is usually linked to Tamil elements associated with wealth and leadership, commonly described (though with regional variation) as a compound of selvam meaning wealth and durai meaning lord or master; however, transliteration and local naming conventions can yield variations such as Selva-Durai or Selvaduri.

Notable people with the surname include Shyam Selvadurai (born 1971), a Canadian author of Sri Lankan Tamil origin, best known for his novel Funny Boy, as well as Swimming in the Monsoon Sea. The name appears across the Tamil-speaking world and in literary, academic, and professional circles as part of the broader Tamil diaspora.