Surname

How did the name "Tyagi" come in use?
One story is that the name was originally "Daan Tyagi", which implied that the person (a Brahmin) has given up accepting alms. In the course of time, the name got shortened to Tyagi.
In rural areas, education deteriorated due to political instability caused by invasions on India and some brahmins probably considered that they were not able to perform the rites properly or they resented the way some other brahmins were exploiting the uneducated masses. They had to find another means of livelihood, which was usualy to be a farmer. Such brahmins have different names in other States; Desai in Gujarat, Chitpavan in Maharashtra, Bhumihar in Bihar and Mohiyal in Panjab.