These are Hindu Brahmins who affiliate either with the Gautam gotra and/or Gautam Dharmasutra and have their last name as Gautam.
Etymology
The name Gautam (Sanskrit: गौतम, a vrddhi patronymic of Gotama and also transliterated as Gautama or Gauthama) is one of the ancient Indian names and is derived from the Sanskrit roots गः gaḥ and तम tama. Tama means “darkness” and gaḥ means inter alia "bright light". Together they indicate the one, who dispels darkness (i.e., ignorance) by his brilliance (i.e., spiritual knowledge).
Generally some Brahmins who affiliate either with the Gautam gotra and/or Gautam Dharmasutra in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu write the last name as Gautam.
Notable people
- Dhwani Gautam, Indian filmmaker
- Hari Gautam, Cardiologist, former VC of BHU and former UGC Chairman
- Mukesh Gautam, Indian film director and father of Surilie and Yami Gautam
- Navneet Gautam, Indian kabbadi player
- Ram Kumar Gautam, Indian politician
- Rashmi Gautam, Indian actress
- Ravindra Gautam, Indian film and television director
- Satish Kumar Gautam, Indian politician
- Shatrughan Gautam, Indian politician
- Sheela Gautam, Indian politician
- Srikant Gautam, Indian lyricist and film director
- Surilie Gautam, Indian film and television actress
- Umesh Gautam, Indian politician
- Yami Gautam, Indian actress