Mudaliar (alternatively spelled: Mudaliyar, Mudliyar, also Mudali or Moodley) is a caste title used by the people belonging to various Tamil castes and in the Tamil diaspora. Castes using Mudaliar title speak Tamil as their native language.
Etymology
The surname is derived from the honorary title Mudali meaning a person of first rank in the Tamil Chola feudal society which was bestowed upon top-ranking bureaucratic officials and army commanders in medieval South India. The surname is generally prevalent among Indian Tamils and the Tamil diaspora though it is also used in other parts of South India.
Some of the Mudali clans of Thondaimandalam migrated to Sri Lanka during the period of the medieval poet Kambar. For example, some of the Tamils in Ceylon trace their lineage to this group, some of whom had become saints called Nayanars. The book The Tamils in Early Ceylon by C. Sivaratnam traces some of the Mudaliyars in Ceylon to Thaninayaka Mudaliyar (among others), a rich Saiva Vellalar who emigrated to Ceylon from Tondaimandalam.
Castes using the Mudaliar title include: