I worked for a Pakistani many years ago, and was told that Patel was as common there as Smith was here.
“I worked for a Pakistani many years ago, and was told that Patel was as common there as Smith was here.”
Yes, very common, but usually is a Hindu name.
In Gujarat and other areas of north-central India, it can be even more common. I once taught at a high school in a community with a large Gujarati population, and there were classes in which more than half the students had the last name Patel.