Re:How Indian Americans Came to Run Half of All U.S. Motels
by parthdesai on Wednesday September 05, 2018 @02:53PM
(#17920876)
In India, last names were usually based on your occupation. And iirc, Patels used to be farmers or merchants. It's the most common Gujarati surname. That's why you would see some people having "Motiwala" as a last name which literally translates to "Pearl merchant".
Source: have the 3rd most common Gujarati surname.
Source: have the 3rd most common Gujarati surname.