[yevgenie]

Actually, Patel is an Indian name (from India--not native Americans), and it means "Innkeeper". All the hotel/motel owners here are named Patel too.

Ummm... MOST Patels are NOT Indian, they are Pakistani.

[Space Wrangler]

Well, all I can say is that several Patels are big in our business community, and all are from India. I do know that Patel is not an arab surname though.