List of Tamil people

This is a list of notable Tamils.

Ancient Kings and Rulers

Tamil dynasties

Chola dynasty

Pandya dynasty

Chera dynasty

Pallava dynasty

Ay dynasty

Velir dynasty

Aryacakravarti dynasty

Vanni dynasty

Rajahnate of Cebu

Kongu Chera dynasty

Other royal families

Rulers of Ramnad

Ramanatha Sethupathi (?–1979), last Raja of Ramnad estate

Rajeswari Nachiyar, only daughter of last Raja Ramanatha Sethupathi, present titular ruler of Ramnad estate

Rajkumar Sethupathi, actor, brother of last Raja Ramanatha Sethupathi and Latha, married leading actress in the 1980s Sripriya

Latha, actress, sister of last Raja Ramanatha Sethupathi and actor Rajkumar Sethupathi

Rulers of Pudukkottai

Rajagopala Thondaiman (1922–1997), last ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai

R. Rajagopala Thondaiman (1958–?), present head of the royal house of Pudukkottai, son of Radhakrishna Thondaiman, nephew of last ruler Rajagopala Thondaiman

Charubala Thondaiman (1958–), wife of R. Rajagopala Thondaiman, member of the INC, former mayor of Tiruchirappalli (2001–2009)

Multinational positions

Radhika Coomaraswamy (1953–), Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

Roy Padayachie (1950–2012), Minister of Public Service and Administration of the Republic of South Africa; also served in the economics desk of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and as deputy head of local government portfolio; consultant to UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

Indra Nooyi, Indian-American business executive and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo

Raghuram Rajan, former IMF Chief Economist

Independence movement

Indian independence movement

Nagappan Padayatchi (1891 – 6 July 1909)

Maveeran Alagumuthu Kone (1710–1757)

Puli Thevar (1715–1767)

Marudhanayagam pillai (1725–1764)

Rani Velu Nachiar (1730–1796)

Rettamalai Srinivasan (1860–1945)

Dheeran Chinnamalai

Subramanya Bharathi (1882–1921), poet and social reformer

V. Kalyanasundaram (1883–1953), scholar

Subramaniya Siva (1884–1925), writer

Dawood Shah (1885–1969), scholar

Muhammad Ismail Rowther (1896–1972)

Jeevanandham (1907–1963)

Champakaraman Pillai (1891–1934)

Tiruppur Kumaran (1904–1932)

K. Kamaraj (1903–1975)

Veeran Sundaralingam (1770–1799)

Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar

V. O. Chidambaram pillai (1872–1936)

Independence movements in other countries

Thillaiaadi Valliammai (1898–1914), South African militant

Captain Miller (1966–1987), Tamil rebel and member of the Tamil Tigers, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka; known as the LTTE's first Black Tiger (suicide bomber).

V. T. Sambanthan (1919–1979), one of the three founding fathers of Malaysia

Pon Sivakumaran (1950–1974), Eelam Tamil rebel and the first Tamil militant to commit suicide by swallowing cyanide

Ponnambalam Ramanathan, leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement

Ponnambalam Arunachalam, leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement

Cankili I also known as Cekaracacekaran VII, most remembered Jaffna kingdom king in the Eelam Tamil history. He was very active in resisting Portuguese colonial inroads into Eelam.

Cankili II, known as the last King of the Jaffna Kingdom

Arumaipperumal, Batticaloa chieftain in the 18th century who led a rebellion against the British colonial occupiers in 1803

Pandara Vanniyan (1775–1810), Tamil Chieftain who ruled in Vanni Nadu in 18th century AD. He is referred to by some as the last Tamil king in Sri Lanka, who also rose to revolt against the British Ceylon empire and Dutch Ceylon empire, who died battling the British colonial rule on the island.

Periyapillai, known to mount the major attack on the Portuguese fort in the Mannar Island to regain territory lost during Cankili's rule

Migapulle Arachchi also known as Chinna Migapillai, feudal lord from the Jaffna Kingdom who became a rebel leader just after its annexation by the Portuguese Empire in 1619. His title Arachchi, is a title given to the commanders of Lascarins or native military forces.

Varunakulattan, 17th-century feudal lord and military commander from the Jaffna Kingdom. He led a rebellion as the military commander of Thanjavur Nayak against the Portuguese in their conquest of the Jaffna kingdom in 1619. Although the nominal king was Cankili II, Varunakulattan was described as the king of Karaiyars, and wield the real power in the Jaffna Peninsula.