Mudaliar

Mudaliar (alternatively spelled: Muthaliar, Mudali, Muthali, Moodley or Mudliar ) is a Tamil title and surname. As title, it was historically given to high-ranking military officers and their descendants during the Chola empire rule. The surname is most prevalent among Tamils from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Descendants of Tamil colonial migrants also bears variants of the name in countries such as South Africa, and elsewhere in the Tamil diaspora.

The title was primarily used by the communities like the Thuluva Vellalar, Sengunthar, Kondaikatti Vellalar. Other communities adopted it as means to present themselves as superior to the social status which they actually held.