There are two theories about the origin of Shenoy or Shenvi.
The Sanskrit word Shrenipati, meaning the leader of the guild, which got converted as Shennivayi in Apabhraṃśa, and later as Shenai or Shenvi in old Konkani.
It is from the Sanskrit word for 96, ṣaṇṇavati (षण्णवति). The significance of the word 96 among Konkanis is that 96 villages formed the core region of Goa. It is said that 96 clans / families of Saraswat Brahmins arrived in Gomantak and settled in one village each.[4] 66 villages were in Sashti region (66 in Sanskrit is ṣaṭ ṣaṣṭi - षट् षष्टि. Sashti became Salcette during the Portuguese rule) and 30 villages were in Tiswadi region.
Background and origins
Plaque outside a commercial establishment, Goa, India
The Shenoys were generally involved in administration of the city. The word 'Shenoy' itself means a writer.[3] GSBs were administrators of the temples. The word 'Shenoy' is also interchangeable with its counterpart 'Shanbhag'
The Saraswats migrated from Goa during the Muslim and Christian conquests during 1600, and carried their surname with them.Shenoy is derived from old Konkani word šeṇəy.Thus the word 'शणै' is transliterated in Latin script as Shenoy in Karnataka and as Xennai, Shenoi, Shenai, Shenvi or even Sinai in Goa.[3]Xennoi is less commonly used in the erstwhile Portuguese Goa and Damaon, but nowadays it has given way to Xennai today.[5]
It was common in Goa for Shenoys and other Saraswats to add the name of their ancestral village or title after Shenoy to denote their origin.[6]
