surname found commonly among people of the Jat clan from the Northern Indian state of Punjab. Most of the members of this clan are Sikhs by
religion although there are many Sikh/Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Roman Catholic Nijjar's belonging to the Khatri/Rajput/Gujjar caste. Village historians say many Nijjar's changed their
name to "Nayyar" under the suggestion of the
British to distinguish themselves from Jat Nijjars.