List of Nairs

This is a list of notable members of the Nair community of southern India.

• Kingdom of Travancore^[1]
• Zamorin of Calicut^[2]
• Thekkumkur Kingdom^[32]
• Vadakkumkur Kingdom^[3]
• Chirakkal Raja^[4]
• Porlathiri
• Kingdom of Venad^[5]
• Valluvanad^[5]
• Ernād^[5]
• Palakkad^[5]
• Kingdom of Kolathunadu^[5]
• Kavalappara Moopil Nayar
• Paliam Swaroopam

• Chattampi Swamikal^[6] – Hindu Sage and Social Reformer
• Swami Chinmayananda^[7] – Spiritual leader and founding father of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
• Tapovan Maharaj,^[8] a Hindu sage and Vedanta Scholar.
• Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi, Founder of Anantha Mahasabha.
• Devasahayam Pillai^[9] – Roman Catholic Saint canonized by the Church.

• Shobhana Chandrakumar Pillai,^[10] Indian actress and bharatanatyam dancer
• Jayabharathi,^[11] Indian actress, two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress
• Urvashi,^[12] Prominent lead actress of the 1980s and 1990s
• Kalaranjini,^[3] Indian actress
• Parvathy Jayaram,^[13] Indian actress
• Ragini,^[10] Indian actress and dancer
• Padmini,^[10] Indian actress and trained bharatanatyam dancer
• Lalitha,^[10] Indian actress and dancer
• Ambika,^[10] Indian actress
• Revathi,^[14] Indian actress
• Seema,^[15] Indian actress
• Kalpana,^[3] Indian actress
• Sithara,^[16] Indian actress
• Suchitra Pillai,^[17] Indian actress who mainly appear in Bollywood films
• Renuka Menon,^[18] Indian actress
• Shwetha Menon,^[19] Indian actress
• Divya Pillai,^[20] Indian actress
• Sukumari,^[10] Indian actress
• Mallika Sukumaran,^[21][22] Indian actress and businesswomen
• Bhavana,^[23] Indian actress who mainly appear in South-Indian Films
• Aranmula Ponnamma,^[24] Indian actress
• Bhama,^[25] Indian actress
• Ananya,^[26] Indian actress
• Anusree,^[27] Indian actress and model
• Samyuktha,^[28] Indian actress
• Jyothirmayi,^[29] Indian actress
• Shobha Mohan,^[30] Indian actress
• Jalaja,^[31] Indian actress who received Kerala State Film Award for best actress in 1981
• Bindu Panicker,^[32] Indian actress
• Niranjana Anoop,^[33] Indian actress and model
• Neeta Pillai,^[34] Indian actress and model
• Ambili Devi,^[35] Indian television actress
• Aarsha Chandini Baiju,^[36] Indian actress and model
• Iswarya Menon,^[37] Indian actress and model
• Kumari Thankam, lead actress during the late 1950s and 1960s
• Aparna Balamurali,^[38] Indian actress
• Praveena,^[39] Indian actress
• Asha Sharath,^[40] Indian actress and dancer
• Keerthy Suresh,^[41] Indian actress who mainly appear in Tamil films
• Sshivada,^[42] Indian actress
• Mahima Nambiar,^[43] Indian actress and model
• Sangita Madhavan,^[44] Indian actress
• Gauthami Nair,^[45] Indian actress
• Priyanka Nair,^[46] Indian actress
• Rajasree, Indian actress
• Lakshmi Menon,^[47] Indian actress who mainly appear in Tamil films
• Nithya Menen,^[48] Indian actress and singer
• Karthika Nair,^[49] Indian actress
• Radha,^[50] Indian actress
• Valsala Menon,^[51] Indian actress
• Devi Ajith,^[52] Indian actress
• Uma Nair,^[53] Indian television actress
• Aparna Nair, Indian actress
• Santhi Mayadevi, Indian actress

• Mohanlal,^[54] Popular Indian actor, who received Padma Shri in 2001, Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours
• Suresh Gopi,^[55] Indian actor and politician
• Jayan,^[11] Indian actor, ex-naval officer and stunt performer of 1970s and 1980s
• Janardhanan Pillai,^[56] Indian actor and former Indian Air force personnel
• Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair,^[30] Indian actor who received best actor award in 1970
• Oduvil Unnikrishnan,^[57] Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema
• C. V. Raman Pillai,^[58] Indian actor, Novelist, playwright, journalist and social activist
• Muraleedharan Pillai,^[59] Indian actor, stage and television actor and author
• Madhavan nair,^[60] Indian actor, director, producer, former college lecturer and former film studio owner
• Balachandra Menon,^[61] Indian actor, director and script writer
• Sai Kumar,^[30] Indian actor
• M. N. Nambiar,^[62] Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, known mostly for his villain roles
• Bharat Gopy,^[63] Indian actor, producer and director
• Dileep,^[50] Indian actor, producer and businessman
• Nedumudi Venu,^[64] Indian actor who won three National Film Awards and Six Kerala State Film Awards
• Narendra Prasad,^[65] Indian actor
• Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair,^[66] Indian actor, author and film director
• Prithviraj Sukumaran,^[22][21] Indian actor and director
• Vijayaraghavan,^[67] Indian actor
• N. N. Pillai,^[67] Indian actor and drama artist
• M. G. Soman,^[68] Indian actor
• Raghuvaran,^[69] Indian actor
• Vineeth,^[10] Indian actor and dancer
• Vinu Mohan,^[30] Indian actor
• Krishna,^[10] Indian actor
• Sukumaran,^[22][21] Indian actor and producer
• Santhosh K. Nayar,^[70] Indian actor
• Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju, Indian actor
• Vini Vishwa Lal,^[71] Indian actor and screenwriter
• Sudev Nair,^[72] Indian actor and model
• Indrajith Sukumaran,^[22][21] Indian actor
• Anoop Menon,^[73] Indian actor
• Rajeev Pillai,^[74] Indian actor and model
• Unni Mukundan,^[75] Indian actor
• Chandunath G Nair,^[76] Indian actor and model
• T. P. Madhavan,^[77] Indian actor
• Kollam G. K. Pillai,^[78] Indian actor
• Balan K. Nair,^[79] Indian actor
• Adoor Bhasi, Indian actor
• Biju Menon,^[80] Indian actor
• K. B. Ganesh Kumar,^[81] Indian actor and politician
• Kay Kay Menon,^[82] Indian actor
• Gautham Vasudev Menon,^[83] Indian actor
• Govind Padmasoorya,^[84] Indian actor
• Anu Mohan,^[30] Indian actor
• Vanchiyoor Madhavan Nair, actor in Malayalam movies of the 1960s and 1970s
• T. K. Balachandran, Indian actor
• Gokul Suresh,^[85] Indian actor
• Sankaradi,^[86] Indian actor
• S. P. Pillai,^[87] Indian actor
• Kozhikode Narayanan Nair,^[88] Indian actor
• Karamana Janardanan Nair,^[89] Indian actor
• Sudheesh,^[90] Indian actor
• Krishna Kumar,^[91] Indian actor and politician
• Adithya Menon, Indian actor
• Vijay Babu, Indian actor
• Jayan Cherthala, Indian actor
• Baiju Santhosh, Indian actor
• Narain,^[92] Indian actor
• Jagadish, Indian actor
• Suraj Venjaramoodu, Indian actor
• Sajan Surya,^[93] Indian television actor
• Rajeev Parameshwar, Indian television actor
• Jayakumar Parameswaran Pillai,^[94] Indian television actor
• Sreejith Vijay, Indian actor

• Rhea Pillai,^[95] Indian model
• Methil Devika,^[96] Indian dancer and researcher
• Vineeth,^[10] Indian dancer and actor
• Parvathy Omanakuttan,^[97] Indian model
• Asha Sharath,^[40] Indian dancer and actress
• Parvati Nair,^[98] Indian model
• Thulasi Nair,^[99] Indian model

• Padmarajan,^[100] Indian film-maker and screenwriter
• Ranjith,^[101] Indian film director and screenwriter
• Thoppil Bhasi,^[102] Indian playwright and screenwriter
• K. Ravindranathan Nair, Indian film producer
• Bharathan, Indian filmmaker
• Priyadarshan,^[103] Indian film director and screenwriter
• Shaji Kailas,^[104] Indian film director and screenwriter
• Rajasenan,^[105] Indian film director and former actor
• Adoor Gopalakrishnan,^[106] Indian film director and script writer
• Rajeev Govindan,^[107] Indian writer, lyricist and producer
• Adoor gopalakrishnan, Indian film director
• B. Unnikrishnan, Indian film director
• Sachy,^[108] Indian screenwriter and director
• Sujith Vaassudev, Indian cinematographer
• Anjali Menon,^[109] Indian film-maker and screenwriter
• K. Madhu, Indian filmmaker
• P. Chandrakumar, Indian director and cinematographer
• Anil Radhakrishnan Menon, Indian film director
• Balu Kiriyath, Indian film director
• Sreekumaran Thampi, Indian film director
• Major Ravi, Indian actor and film director
• Sivan, Indian cinematographer and film director
• Sangeeth Sivan, Indian film director and screenwriter
• Santosh Sivan, Indian cinematographer
• N Sankaran Nair, Indian director
• K. Padmanabhan Nair, Indian film director and script writer
• Raja Krishna Menon, Indian film writer

• M. G. Sreekumar,^[110] Indian playback singer and composer
• K. S. Chithra,^[111] Indian playback singer
• Sujatha Mohan,^[112] Indian playback singer
• Shweta Mohan,^[112] Indian playback singer
• M. Jayachandran, Indian composer
• P. Jayachandran, Indian playback singer and actor
• Arjun Menon, Indian playback singer
• Neha Nair,^[113] Indian playback singer and composer
• Siddharth Menon,^[114] Indian playback singer and actor
• Sreevalsan J. Menon,^[115] Indian vocalist

• Sreekandan Nair, media personality, television anchor, veteran journalist and managing director of Flowers TV and 24 News.
• Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan, journalist of Malayalam Cinema.
• Nisha Pillai, Indian journalist based in London
• Udaya Tara Nayar, film journalist in India
• P. Govinda Pillai, former chief editor of Deshabhimani
• K. N. P. Kurup, Indian journalist and politician
• C. Karunakara Menon, Indian journalist and politician
• Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, Indian journalist and writer
• Suresh Menon, sports writer

• Lakshmi Sahgal, popularly known as "Captain Lakshmi", was the leader of "Rani of Jhansi Regiment" of Indian National Army
• Kumbalathu Sanku Pillai, social reformer
• N. P. Nayar, freedom fighter
• K. P. Kesava Menon, Founder of Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam Daily
• K. Kelappan, freedom fighter, popularly known as "Kerala Gandhi"
• Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, an Indian social reformer, freedom fighter, and the founder of the Nair Service Society (NSS)
• K. Chandrasekhara Pillai, social reformer
• Aiyappan Pillai Madhavan Nair, was closely involved with Japan in the Indian independence movement at 1920s-1940s
• Padmanabha Pillai Gopinathan Nair, social reformer and Gandhian.
• A. C. N. Nambiar, Indian Nationalist
• K. P. Karunakara Menon, social reformer
• Panampilly Govinda Menon, freedom fighter
• K. Kumar, one of the earliest socio-political leaders who have brought Gandhi's message and the spirit of the national movement to the erstwhile Travancore State.
• K. B. Menon, social reformer.
• Viji Thampi, social activist and Indian film director.

• Sugathakumari, Indian poet and activist
• O. N. V. Kurup, Indian Poet and lyricist
• Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, Indian historian and linguist
• Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup, Sanskrit and Malayalam scholar
• Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Indian novelist
• P. Kunhiraman Nair, Indian writer
• M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author, screenplay writer and film director
• Vallathol Narayana Menon, Indian Poet
• N. Krishna Pillai, Indian dramatist and literary critic
• Nalapat Narayana Menon, Indian writer
• Kurissery Gopala Pillai, Indian writer
• Oyyarath Chandu Menon, Indian writer
• Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, Indian writer
• Aiyappan Pillai, Indian writer, politician and lawyer
• Nagavally R. S. Kurup, Indian writer
• S. Guptan Nair, Indian scholar
• Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, kathakali artist
• Oduvil Kunhikrishna Menon, Indian poet
• Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, Malayalam writer, art and literary critic and journalist
• C. N. Sreekantan Nair, Indian writer
• Vadakke kuruppath Narayana Menon, prominent art critics
• K. Kumar, Indian orator, reformer and writer
• P. C. Kuttikrishna Menon, Indian writer
• Omchery N. N. Pillai, Indian Malayalam-language playwright and novelist
• Edasseri Govindan Nair, Indian poet and critic
• Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Indian writer and actor
• M. P. Narayana Pillai, Indian writer
• Ramachandran Unnithan, kathakali artist
• Anita Nair, English-language Indian novelist
• Manu S. Pillai, Indian author and historian
• B. Jeyamohan, Indian author
• Vennikkulam Gopala Kurup, Indian poet
• B. Sujatha Devi, Indian writer
• Edappally Raghavan Pillai, Indian poet
• G. Kumara Pillai, Indian writer
• Karoor Neelakanta Pillai, Indian writer
• Erumeli Parameswaran Pillai, Indian writer
• Sreekanteswaram Padmanabha Pillai, Indian lexicographer
• M. K. Menon, Indian writer
• Asha Menon, Indian writer
• Karthika Naïr, French-Indian poet and dancer

• V K Krishna Menon, Veteran Diplomat and Cabinet Minister, former Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Indian High Commissioner to the UK.
• V. P. Menon, Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to the last three viceroys during British rule in India.
• Omana Kunjamma, First Native Female Magistrate in India.^[116][117]
• N. R. Pillai, 1st Cabinet Secretary of India (1950–1953).
• K. P. S. Menon Sr., 1st Foreign Secretary of India (1948–1952).
• M. K. Vellodi, 4th Defence Secretary of India (1953–1957) and the 3rd Cabinet Secretary of India (1957–1958)
• Gopal Krishna Pillai, 15th Home Secretary of India (2009–2011).
• K. P. S. Menon Jr., 15th Foreign Secretary of India (1987–1989).
• Jyotindra Nath Dixit, 18th Foreign Secretary of India (1991–1994) and 2nd National Security Adviser (2004-2005).
• M. K. Narayanan, 3rd National Security Advisor of India (2005-2010) and former Director of Intelligence Bureau.
• Shivshankar Menon, 27th Foreign Secretary of India (2006–2009) and 4th National Security Adviser(2010-2014).
• K. M. Chandrasekhar, 29th Cabinet Secretary of India (2007–2011).
• K. K. Nayar (formerly K. Karunakaran Pillai), former Indian Administrative Service officer of Uttar Pradesh.
• Thottuvelil Krishna Pillai Ayappan Nair, former Indian Administrative Service and adviser to the Prime Minister of India.
• Meppally Keshava Pillai Krishnankutty Nair, Indian Administrative Service officer.
• Ramakrishna Pillai Ramachandran Nair, Indian Administrative Service officer.
• K. Sankaran Nair, 2nd Director of the Research and Analysis Wing
• K Vijayakumar, Former Director General of CRPF. Senior National Security Officer and Advisor to Home Ministry.
• T.P Sreenivasan, diplomat and former Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Indian High Commissioner in Kenya.
• M. P. M. Menon, former ambassador of India to Bahrain, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, and Brazil.
• C. Madhavan Nair, former advocate-general of Madras Presidency.
• P. K. Narayana Panicker, former general secretary and president of NSS.
• Sardar K. M. Panikkar, historian, novelist, and diplomat.
• Vinod C. Menon, Member of the National Disaster Management Authority of India.

• Ranj Pillai, Canadian politician, who has been the 10th premier of Yukon and Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.
• Gopinath Pillai, Singaporean bureaucrat and businessman.
• Sundaresh Menon, 4th and current Chief justice of Singapore.
• Hri Kumar Nair SC, Singaporean Lawyer serving as the Deputy Attorney-General of Singapore (2017–present). former Member of Parliament representing the Thomson division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC (2006–2015).
• Chandran Nair, Singaporean Poet and former Director and Mediator of UNESCO in Paris.
• Gita Gopinath, Current first Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2022–present), previously served as Chief Economist of the IMF (2019–2022).
• Vanu Gopala Menon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, personal representative of the President of Singapore.

• Chandran Nair, civil servant with UNESCO (1981–2004) (Singapore)
• Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (2001–2007) (India)
• Vijay K. Nambiar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (2007–2012), Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations, special advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations (2006) (India),
• Vanu Gopala Menon, the Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations (2004–2011). (Singapore)

• Raja Kesavadas, Diwan of Travancore Kingdom (1789–1798). Known as the "Maker of Modern Alleppey".
• Velu Thampi Dalawa, Diwan of Travancore Kingdom (1802–1809) and freedom fighter.
• Nanoo Pillai, Diwan of Travancore Kingdom (1877–1880).
• M. Krishnan Nair, Diwan of Travancore Kingdom (1914–1920)
• P.G.N Unnithan, Diwan of Travancore Kingdom (1947–1948)
• Paliath Achan, former hereditary prime minister of Cochin Kingdom.
• Edamana Sankara Menon, Diwan of Kingdom of Cochin (1830–1834).
• T. Sankunni Menon, Diwan of Kingdom of Cochin (1860–1879).
• T. Govindan Menon, Diwan of Kingdom of Cochin (1879–1890).
• V.S Pillai, Diwan of Kingdom of Cochin (1893–1896).
• P. Narayana Menon, Diwan of Kingdom of Cochin (1922–1925).
• C. P. Karunakara Menon, Diwan of Kingdom of Cochin (1944–1947), Diwan of Pudukottai (1947–1948).

• Shashi Tharoor, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (2001–2007). Current Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram Loksabha Constituency.
• V.K. Krishna Menon, Veteran Indian Diplomat, known for his 8-hour speech at UN Security Council on the Kashmir issue. Known as the 'Hero of Kashmir'. Architect of Non-Aligned Movement.

• V.K. Krishna Menon, former Union Minister of Defence (1957–1962).
• Panampilly Govinda Menon, former Union Minister for Railways (1969–1970), Union Minister of Law (1967–1970), 1st Prime Minister of Cochin.
• K. Karunakaran, former Union Minister of Industry (1995–1996), 5th chief minister of Kerala () (INC)
• Lakshmi N. Menon, former minister of state, Ministry of External Affairs (1962–1966). (INC)
• M. G. K. Menon, former minister of state for Science and Technology. (1989)
• K P Unnikrishnan, former minister for telecommunications, shipping and surface transport (1989–1990).
• O. Rajagopal, former minister of state in Third Vajpayee Ministry.(1999–2004) (BJP)
• Shashi Tharoor, former minister of state in the Second Manmohan Singh Ministry.
• K. C. Venugopal, former minister of state for power, civil aviation (2011–2014).
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar, current Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology (2021–present) (BJP).

• Pattom Thanu Pillai, 1st Prime Minister of Travancore and 4th chief minister of Travancore-Cochin.
• Paravur T K Narayana Pillai, 2nd Prime Minister of Travancore, 1st chief minister of Travancore-Cochin.
• T K Nair, 2nd Prime Minister of Cochin.

• Pattom Thanu Pillai, 2nd chief minister of Kerala (PSP)
• C Achutha Menon, 4th chief minister of Kerala. (CPI)
• P K Vasudevan Nair, 7th chief minister of Kerala. (CPI)
• E K Nayanar, 9th chief minister of Kerala. (CPI(M))

• Rajmohan Unnithan, Member of Parliament from Kasargod Loksabha Constituency.(INC)
• K. Muralidharan, Member of Parliament from Vatakara Loksabha Constituency. (INC)
• M. K. Raghavan, Member of Parliament from Kozhikode Loksabha Constituency. (INC)
• V. K. Sreekandan, Member of Parliament from Palakkad Loksabha Constituency. (INC)
• N. K. Premachandran, Member of Parliament from Kollam Loksabha Constituency. (INC)
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament, Rajyasabha from Karnataka. (BJP)
• K. C. Venugopal, Member of Parliament, Rajyasabha from Rajasthan. (INC)

• C V Ananda Bose, current governor of West Bengal.
• P S Sreedharan Pillai, current governor of Goa, former Governor of Mizoram. (BJP)
• Kummanam Rajasekharan, former Governor of Mizoram. (BJP)
• M. K. Narayanan, former Governor of West Bengal.
• K. Sankaranarayanan, former Governor of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. (INC)

• C. Sankaran Nair, 13th president of Indian National Congress (1897).
• A K Gopalan Nambiar, Prominent Communist leader and First Opposition Party Leader of Loksabha. (CPI)
• K. Chandrasekhara Pillai, senior member and former Assistant Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala.
• K. G. Marar, former State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala.
• Kummanam Rajasekharan, former State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala.
• P. S. Sreedharan Pillai, former State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala.
• Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, former President of KPCC (1998–2001, 2004–2005).
• Ramesh Chennithala, former President of KPCC (2005–2014).
• E K Nayanar, State Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Kerala. (1972–1980, 1992–1996)
• Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, State Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Kerala. (2015–2022)
• K. C. Venugopal, General Secretary of All India Congress Committee. (2019–present)
• V. D. Satheesan, current Opposition leader in Kerala State Assembly (2021–present) (INC)
• N. Jayaraj, current chief whip of LDF in Kerala Legislative Assembly, MLA from Kerala Congress(M). (2021–present)

• C. M. Padmanabhan Nair, Politician from Socialist Party.
• K. K. Nayar, former Member of Parliament from Bahraich (Lok Sabha constituency) in 4th Lok Sabha (Bharatiya Jan Sangh).

• Devan Nair (1923–2005), 3rd president of Singapore (1981–1985).
• Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a New Zealand politician serving as the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector (2020–present).
• Pramila Jaypal, an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Washington's 7th congressional district (2017–present)(Democratic).
• Susheela Jayapal, an American politician serving as the county commissioner for Multnomah County, Oregon. (2019–present)
• Hri Kumar Nair SC, a Singaporean lawyer serving as the deputy attorney-general of Singapore (2017–present). former Member of Parliament representing the Thomson division of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC (2006–2015).
• Vikram Nair, a Singaporean politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament representing the Admiralty division of Sembawang GRC (2011–present).
• Murali Pillai, a Singaporean politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament representing Bukit Batok SMC (2016–present)
• Ashok-Alexander Sridharan, a German politician, served as Mayor of Bonn (2015–2020).
• Kesava Pillai Anilkumar, a South African politician serving as the Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature (2019–present).
• Billy Nair (1929–2008), a South African politician, a former member of the National Assembly of South Africa (1994–2004), an anti-apartheid activist.
• Damodran Nair, a Fijian politician who served as the Member of the Tavua Open Constituency in the House of Representatives of Fiji.

• Lt General Kunhiraman Palat Candeth, Padmabhushan Awardee.
• Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, former Indian Army officer and Ashoka Chakra Awardee.
• Captain Harshan R Nair, Ashoka Chakra Awardee. 2 Para SF. Youngest ever recipient.
• Sushil Kumar Pillai, former Indian Army General.
• D. P. K. Pillay, former Indian Army officer.
• Lt. General Satish Nambiar, former deputy chief of Indian Army, Headed UN Forces in Kosovo.
• Radhika Menon, Indian female Merchant Navy officer.
• Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair, Ashoka Chakra Awardee.
• R. Hari Kumar, 25th and current Chief of the Naval Staff of India (CNS).
• Lt General Sarath Chand, Vice Chief of Army Staff of Indian Army.
• K Vijayakumar, former Director General of CRPF. Senior National Security Officer and Advisor to Home Ministry.
• Iravikkutti Pillai, commander-in-chief of Venad Kingdom.
• Vaikom Padmanabha Pillai, Military officer of the Kingdom of Travancore.
• Lakshmi Sahgal, popularly known as "Captain Lakshmi", was the leader of "Rani of Jhansi Regiment" of Indian National Army.

• B.Ravi Pillai, an Indian billionaire businessman and second richest Keralite
• Nadakkal Parameswaran Pillai, the co-founder of Indian Coffee Houses in Kerala
• K. Ravindranathan Nair, Indian businessman and film producer
• Rajan Pillai, Indian businessman
• K. P. P. Nambiar, Indian industrialist and technocrat
• K. M. Vasudevan Pillai, founder, and CEO of Mahatma Education Society.
• Dr. G. C. Gopala Pillai, former chairman and managing director of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore and the Founder MD of Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA).
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar, owner of Jupiter Capital, a Bangalore-based venture capital fund; Owner of Asianet News.
• Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair, founder of The Leela Group.
• Jaishankar Menon (born 1956), Indian electrical engineer; developer of RAID technology

• Leena Nair, current global CEO of Chanel. Previously served as the Chief Human Resource Officer of Unilever.
• Gita Gopinath, current first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2022–present), previously served as Chief Economist of the IMF (2019–2022).
• G. A. Menon, founder and chairman of US-based Magnecomp International.
• V.K. Rajashekharan Pillai, a Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awardee, chairman of Bahrain-based National Group of Companies.
• P. N. C. Menon (born 1948), Indian-Omani businessman

• M.G.K Menon, 2nd Chairman of ISRO.
• G Madhavan Nair, 6th Chairman of ISRO
• K Radhakrishnan, 7th Chairman of ISRO (2009–2014)
• S Somanath, current Chairman of ISRO.
• Anil Menon, Candidate for an astronaut at NASA, former medical director at NASA and SpaceX.
• Thushara Pillai, Indian astrophysicist and astronomer.
• M. Radhakrishna Pillai (scientist), Indian cancer biologist.
• K C Sreedharan Pillai (1920–1985), an Indian statistician who was known for his works on multivariate analysis and probability distributions.
• Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London, UK. Appointed in January 2014 as director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. Special adviser to the House of Lords EU committee.
• Nivedita Menon, Feminist writer and Professor of Political Thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
• Shree K. Nayar, T. C. Chang Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering at Columbia University. Director of research at Snap Inc. A Member of the US National Academy of Engineering (2008) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011).
• Shrikanth Narayanan, Professor at the University of Southern California. An interdisciplinary engineer-scientist with a focus on human-centered signal processing and machine intelligence with speech and spoken language processing at its core.
• V. Parmeswaran Nair, A physicist, currently as serving a Distinguished Professor at City University of New York.
• Geeta Menon, the Abraham Krasnoff Professor of Global Business at New York University Stern School of Business.
• V. N. Rajashekharan Pillai, Acting Chairman, University Grants Commission, India.
• Bindu Menon, Indian neurologist, health activist, researcher.
• M. S. Valiathan, Indian cardiac surgeon.
• Rosscote Krishna Pillai, Indian science writer.
• P. K. Ramachandran Nair, agricultural scientist.
• P. K. K. Nair, Indian scientist

The Padma Vibhushan is India's second highest civilian honour.

The Padma Bhushan is India's third highest civilian honour.

The Padma Shri is India's fourth highest civilian honour.

• S Sreesanth, Indian former cricketer and film actor
• Karun Nair, Indian international cricketer
• Shankar Pillai, American poker player
• Abhishek Nayar, former Indian international cricketer
• Narendra Menon, former Indian first class cricketer
• Bhaskar Pillai, former Indian cricketer
• Sashi Menon, Indian former professional tennis player
• Arjun Nair, Australian cricketer

• Malayali Pillais
• Kurup of Travancore
• Menon (title)
• Kaimal
• Nair Brigade
• Nair Service Society