Singh means “lion,” from Sanskrit siṃha. Long used as a South Asian title and surname among warrior and other communities, it became especially visible when Guru Gobind Singh had Sikh men take Singh as a shared name—part of a push toward equality and a saint-soldier identity—while Sikh women took Kaur.
In modern diasporas Singh functions as a hereditary surname across many families and is no longer a narrow caste badge. The semantic core stays stable: lion. That is clearer than most English nicknames and needs no invented folk etymology. Family page line: a South Asian name meaning lion, with deep Sikh historical resonance for many bearers.