Shetty () (also spelled setty or chetty) is a Mercantile community originating from the coastal Karnataka state of India The name Belived to derives from the Prakrit word (Devanagari: सेठी), and then (Devanagari: शेट) or (Devanagari: शेटी). meaning "chief" or "leader of merchants", which later developed into "Shetty". as per modern historians like Kamath its derived from the Sanskrit word . Historically, Shetty's are believed to have been originally Jains before the 16-17th century and active as Jain Merchants. Later, many families significantly converted to Hinduism, reportedly due to socio-political changes.
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