Vishwamitra gotra and Ambalavasis

In Kerala, the thread wearing Ambalavasis such as Nambisans have vishwamitra as their gotra, I dont know if they have the concept of a pravara such as Vaiswamitra, Daivarata, Owdala or Vaishwamitra, Madhuchandasa, Dhananjaya. The Varmas (Kshatriyas) also mostly have vishwamitra as their gotra. Was this simply because Vishwamitra is the seer of the Gayatri and these communities didn't study the veda beyond Gayatri mantra ?

South Kanara Brahmin Family Names

South Kanara (Dakshina Kannada & Udupi) is home to a few subsects of brahmins Shivalli, Kota and Koteshwara that have a few distinct family names (surnames). Elsewhere in Karnataka amongst the pancha dravidas the surnames are generic for e.g., the surname Bhat may be the surname adopted by a family that were traditionally priests or ritualists, Shastri or Acharya maybe titles acquired by a family at some point in time. Hegde amongst the Havyakas would be the surname of a Laukika family, the same is the case with Rao in other communities.

The Kota surnames are Karanth, Mayya, Holla, Navada, Hande, Tunga, Herala, Urala. Each of these surnames denote a single family that has divided over time. Karanth  from the village of Karathattu, Hande from Handattu, but the origin of Tunga, Mayya, Navada, Herala is not clear. Is Urala from the term Uralar used in Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the members of the sabha that managed a temple.

From

http://irgu.unigoa.ac.in/drs/bitstream/handle/unigoa/3521/Q_J_Mythic%20Soc_92(3n4)_2001_169-184.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Kota : This village is situated between Kundapura and Brahmavar in the Udupi taluk. Gramapaddhati mentions the brahman families like Tunga, Hol|a, Karanta, Herala, Hande, Navada, Basari, Hebbara and Orala. These families are stated to have been distributed in the following adhivasa of Kota.6 Karatattu (Chirapadi) - Karanta; Parampalli - Hebbara and Holla; Karakadu (Karkada) - Navada; Haratattu - Mayya, Herala; Kotattu - Tunga; and Handattu - Basari, Hande.

The Koteshwara are probably numerically the smallest amongst the the three and are followers of Vadiraja who is supposed to have rehabilated them. I have no clue about how the origin of their surnames Hathwar, Biliya, Gota. They are not mentioned by Gramapaddhati which is also interesting.

The Shivallis are numerically the strongest, have followers of all the three vedas amongst them although the followers of the taittiriya are very few and jaiminiyas are even fewer (single root family ?). Their surnames are in somewhat documented in http://shivallibrahmins.com/family-names/list-of-all-shivalli-family-names/

Deshasth Rigvedis & Rudradhyaya

If Deshastha Rigvedis use the Yajurveda Rudra which version do they choose ? The madhyandina or kanva or the taittiriya - The answer for Rigvedi Chitpavans/Karhade is easier - they have hiryanyakeshi Chitpavans to learn the Taittiriya Rudra from ?

Upadhya

Amongst the Shivalli & Kota (?) brahmins of Udupi/Dakshina Kannada there a few with the surname Upadhya, they are primarily archakas (also referred to as shanti) - is their surname a shortening of Upadhyaya (which is also a surname used by a few) or does it have a different etymology ?  It could be a modification of Upa-aradhaka - which is the same as keezh shanti ?

Maharashtrian Rigveda Recitation Style

When I listen to Mahrashtrian pandits reciting the Rigveda - the recitation seems to be similar to the recitation of Madhyandina Shukla Yajurveda,

Maharashtra Rigvedins have a connection with Varanasi going back to the 1500/1600s, was the tradition in Maharashtra influenced by the Madhyandins in Maharashtra and/or Varanasi ?

Rigveda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3me4uzoFrp0 (4:29)

Shukla Yajurveda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaMFNsVRcIE (first mantra)

Madhyandina/Kanva amongst Tanjavur deshasthas

Some of you may know that there are lots of Maharashtrian Brahmins who settled in TN and AP perhaps in the 1600-1700 time period. They refer to themselves as Deshasthas.

They are mostly madhvas by sect with a small percentage of smarthas. The madhva section would have most likely migrated from the southern parts of Maharashtra/Northern Karnataka where there are lots of Madhvas (even in modern day Solapur). The question is do we find any Madhyandinas or Kanvas amongst these maharashtrians settled in South India, are they all rigvedi (with a few families of Hiranyakeshi - if they were originally Chitpavans ?). Madhyandinas did have some political representation (e.g., Pant Pratinidhi) so we should expect to find some representation in the south but curiously it seems to be absent, unless they changed their Shakha later on.

Deshastha and Krishna Yajurveda

In Maharashtra, yajurvedi invariably means Shukla Yajurvedi and further within that classification, it mostly refers to the Madhyandinas who are numerically much more superior and economically much better of than the Kanva shakhis.

There is a section called Tirgul who are thought to have migrated from the Andhra/Telengana region and accordingly belong to the Krishna Yajurvedi (apastamba) section. Because of their main occupation of Betel leaf farming, they were meted out inferior treatment (something to do with killing insects as their profession demanded them to)

But the question is were there Krishna Yajurvedis of the Apastamba section who were endogamous with the Deshastha Rugvedis ? the gazzetteers seem to suggest so, but I haven't met anyone in practice who is from the Krishna Yajurvedi section.

Note: The maitrayaniya and charak sections technically belong to the Krishna Yajurveda, but have remained endogamous in historical times.