Show ContentsChandra History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Chandra family

The surname Chandra was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say as early as the 12th century. In this county the name has been found in the parishes of Fyvie, Drumblade, Auchterless, Culsalmond, Forgue, Turriff, Gamrie and King Edward.

"A rare but old surname in Scotland. 'The surname of Shand seems originally to have been confined to the north-eastern counties, particularly Aberdeenshire, and in that county more especially to the districts comprising the parishes of: Turriff, Forgue, Drumblade, Auchterless, Culsalmond, Fyvie, King-Edward, and Garnrie." 1

The family is said, by C.F. Shand, the family historian, to be descended from Philibert de Shaunde, Earl of Bath in 1485, who in turn, was descended from a noble house in Normandy. The Earl of Bath, Philibert Shaunde, was created by King Henry II of England and Normandy. Philibert was styled by the King as "Consanguineus noster." 2

Further south in England, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Johannes Schaune, Webster; and Thomas Shan. 3

Early History of the Chandra family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chandra research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1551 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Chandra History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chandra Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Shand, Chand, Schand, Chandai, Shandscross, Shawnd and many more.

Early Notables of the Chandra family

More information is included under the topic Early Chandra Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chandra Ranking

In New Zealand, the name Chandra is the 629th most popular surname with an estimated 1,129 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Chandra family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: A. Shand who arrived in San Francisco, California, in 1852.


Contemporary Notables of the name Chandra (post 1700) +

  • Subodh Chandra, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 2008 5
  • Nomal Chandra Borah (b. 1950), Indian neurologist from Assam
  • Binanda Chandra Barua (1901-1994), noted Indian writer and poet of Assamese literature
  • Ananda Chandra Barua (1907-1983), Indian writer, poet, playwright, translator, journalist and actor from Assam
  • Govind Chandra Pande (1923-2011), well-known Indian scholar, philosopher and historian
  • Vinod Chandra Pande (1932-2005), Indian Civil Servant
  • Krishna Chandra Punetha (1951-2020), Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party
  • Suresh Chandra Angadi (1955-2020), Indian politician, Minister of State for Railways (2019-2020)
  • Ram Chandra Dome (b. 1959), Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India
  • Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose (1858-1937), Indian physicist and botanist


The Chandra Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtute duce comite fortuna
Motto Translation: With valor my leader and good fortune my companion.


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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