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Shett (also spelt as Shet) (Konkani: शेट, Kannada: ಶೆಟ್ಟ) is a name given to the Daivadnya Brahmins of Konkani origin residing on the west coast of India. It is also an honorific title and a common surname used by them in Coastal Karnataka.
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Etymology
The word Shet is derived from the Sanskrit word Śreṣṭha (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठ) or Śreṣṭhin (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठीन्) meaning superior, Prakritised as Seṭhī (Devanagari: सेठी), and then Śeṭ (Devanagari: शेट) or Śeṭī (Devanagari: शेट) in modern Indo-Aryan dialects.
The guilds of the traders, merchants and their employees in ancient Goa, like other parts in India, were called as Śreṇī, and the head of these guilds were called as Śreṣṭha or Śreṣṭhīn, which would mean His Excellency.
Usage
Various Romanised versions found during the colonial period include Chatim, Xete, Xetim, Xatim, Chati, Sette etc. Alternatively it is also spelled as Shet, Sait, Shetty nowadays.
Before the Goa Inquisition, Daivajna men used the titles Sethi etc. after their first names. e.g. Virupa Chattim, Gana Sethi etc. Father's name was used as a middle name. Daivajna diaspora started using village names after their first names to distinguish themselves from other communities. Daivajna people still in Goa still use to continue it as an honorific title. Due to various socio-economic reasons Daivajna people migrated from Goa to other places. Some started using Shet as their surname just to distinguish themselves from others (especially in South Canara, Udupi, Shimoga and in some parts of North Canara.
Few Daivajna families who converted to Catholicism migrated to Mangalore due to attacks by the Marathas in Goa during the late 17th and early 18th century. These families still use the title Śeṭ. The Saldanha-Shet family is one of the well known Konkani Catholic families from Mangalore.