The term Chettiar or Chetty or "Shetty" is a title used by various mercantile castes in South India, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, 14% of the population is Chettiar. "Chetty" derives from the Sanskrit word "Shreshti" meaning "wealth", and is related to other castes in India like, "Setji" of the Marwaris of Rajastan, Sethi or Seth of Punjab, and Shetty or Setty of Karnataka all of which are mercantile castes with variations of the same root word.