Puri (Punjabi: ਪੁਰੀ, پــــُـــرى; Hindi: पुरी, Urdu: پــــُـــرى), is a Khatri clan with it's origins in the Punjab region of the Indian Subcontinent

Origin and Etymology 
The surname itself may possibly be derived from the Purus, the ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of the Northwestern Punjab region who, siding with the Iranic tribes (e.g. Parsu), were defeated at the Battle of the Ten Kings mentioned in the Rig Veda.

Possible relationship with the Rigvedic Puru tribe 

The modern surname Puri may possibly originate with the Puru Vedic tribe.

Buddha Prakash, Professor of History and of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Director of the Institute of Indic Studies (1964); in his book Political and Social Movement in Ancient Punjab states:

The Purus settled between the Asikni and the Parusni, whence they launched their onslaught on the Bharatas, and after the initial rebuff in the Dasarajna War, soon regrouped and resumed their march on the Yamuna and the Sarasvati and subsequently merged with the Bharatas, Some of their off-shoots lingered on in the Punjab and one of their scions played a notable part in the events of the time at Alexander's invitation. They probably survived in the Punjab under the name of Puri, which is a sub-caste of the Khatris. ,

—Political and Social Movement in Ancient Punjab, By Buddha Prakash, pp 77 , 

Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi in his 1966 book Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation wrote:

The cause of the Ten-Kings battle was that the Ten tried to divert the river Parushni. This is a stretch of the modern Ravi which, however, changed its course several times. Diversion of the waters of the Indus system is still a cause for angry recriminations between India and Pakistan. The 'greasy-voiced' Purus, though enemies of Sudas, were not only Aryans but closely related to the Bharatas. Later tradition even makes the Bharatas a branch of the Purus. The same clan priests in the Rigveda impartially call down curses and blessings upon the Purus in diverse hymns, which shows that the differences between them and the Bharatas were not permanent. The quarrel was of another sort than that between Aryan and non-Aryan. The Purus remained in the Harappa region and expanded their rule over the Panjab in later times. It was they who put up the strongest fight against Alexander in 327 B.C. The modern Panjabi surname Puri may possibly originate with the Puru tribe.,

—Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation, By Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand, pp 81-83 ,

D. D. Kosambi (1996) in his book An introduction to the study of India history writes:

The Puru tribe seems to have been as Aryan as any. It survived in the Mahabharata story, and to Alexander's time (perhaps in the modern Punjabi surname Puri)

— Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation, By Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand, pp 95 ,

Hermann Kulke, Dietmer Rothermund write:

King Poros belonged to the tribe of the Pauravas, descended from the Puru tribe mentioned so often in the Rigveda.'

— A History of India, By Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund, pp 57 ,

Naval Viyogi (1996) in his book The founders of Indus valley civilization and their later history writes:

It was they who put up the strongest fight against Alexander in 327 B.C. The modern Punjabi surname Puri may possibly originate with the Puru tribe.

— The founders of Indus valley civilization and their later history, By Naval Viyogi, pp 155 ,

Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya say:

The Puru army may have been wiped out altogether by Alexander and the Mauryans, but the greater number of Purus must have survived, it was the most numerous of the tribes then in the Punjab. Is it too fanciful to trace the modern Punjabi surname Puri to the Puru tribe? There are other survivals of even greater age, e.g. the Hariyupiya of RV. 6.27.5, which must be modem Harappa.

— Combined Methods in Indology, By Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya ,

DISTINGUISHED PURIS 

Military services and martyrs/freedom fighters 

• Vir Haqiqat Rai Bakhmal Puri whose martyrdom was celebrated on Basant Panchami in Lahore until independence
• Capt Jagdish Chandra Puri-Indian Navy, Awarded Vir Chakra in 1971 India Pakistan War
• Major Sheel Kumar Puri -Indian Army, Awarded Vir Chakra in 1971 India Pakistan War
• Flight Seargent Major Prakash Puri, Indian Airforce, Awarded Shaurya Chakra
• 2nd Lt Rajeev Puri, Indian Army, Awarded Shaurya Chakra
• Major General Mohinder Puri of the Indian Army who led the capture of Tiger Hill in the 1999 Kargil Indo-Pakistan War {Recipient of The Uttam Yudh Seva Medal and Param Vishisht Seva Medal}
• Lt.General J.K.Puri (PVSM AVSM)
• Lt General AK Puri (PVSM, AVSM), (Director General Border Roads)
• Lt. General Rakesh Puri, (Director General Quality Assurance)
• Major General Vikram Puri
• Brigadier General Harjit Singh Puri
• Capt. Vivek Puri, Awarded Sena Medal Gallantry
• Lt. Col Pravesh Puri (Awarded Chief of Army Staff'04)
• Major Gaurav Puri (Awarded Chief of Army Staff'04)
• Vice Admiral Raman Puri, PVSM, AVSM, VSM {Retd.}
• Air Marshal, Parduman Krishan Puri {AVSM, VSM}
• Wing Commander Rajan Puri, Awarded Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)
• Wing Commander Inder Puri, Awarded Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)
• Major Shailendra Puri, Sikh Regiment, Recommended for COAS
• Wing Commander Chander Parkash Puri

Sports 

• Indu Puri  an eight time national table tennis Champion and former international Indian Table Tennis Player, An Arjuna Awardee (Khel Ratna)
• Sunita Puri is a former member of the Indian Women's Hockey Team. In 1966 She received the Arjuna Award from Government of India for excellence in sports.
• Mr T.P.S. Puri, a former national badminton coach who is now on the expert panel of the International Badminton Federation

Indian Police Services 

• Former Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, Mr S.S. Puri
• Director General of Police (retd.), A.K. Puri, Himachal Pradesh; Police Medal for meritorious services in 1999. He was also decorated with the President's Police Medal for distinguished services
• Director General of Police, S.S. Puri, Maharashtra; labelled as one of the best cops: Tough cop with a conscience; Head of SIT
• Director General of Police, Swaraj Puri, Madhya Pradesh

Heads of Foreign Affairs 

• Ambassador H.S. Puri, Permanent Representative of India at United Nations Organisation
• Lakshmi Puri of India is the Assistant Secretary-General for Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships at the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

Legal Affairs 

• Hon'ble Mr. Justice K.C.Puri; Judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court

Businessmen 

• Deepak Puri, Founder Moser Baer
• Aroon Puri, an Indian businessman and the founder & editor in chief of India Today
• Sanjay Puri is the Chairman of the United States India Political Action Committee
• Mr Ashok Kumar Puri, Chairman & Managing Director, BHEL, New Delhi
• Sunil Puri was appointed to the Presidents Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2009

Bankers 

• Aditya Puri Managing Director HDFC Bank, former Chief Executive Officer of Citibank, Malaysia
• K R Puri former Governor Reserve Bank of India

Journalists 

• Balraj Puri, a journalist, writer and human rights activist

Film actors 

• Amrish Puri - Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
• Amrita Puri - Bollywood film actress
• Madan Puri - Bollywood film actor
• Arti Puri - Bollywood film actress 
• Om Puri - Bollywood and Hollywood film actor
• Sunil Puri - Film Director 

Scientists 

• Ishwar K. Puri - N. Waldo Harrison Professor at Virginia Tech

References 

Kosambi 1966 4

Prakash 1964: 4

 "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

• Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand (1966). Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilisation. Delhi: Pantheon Books. pp. 81–83.

Prakash, Buddha (1964). Political and Social Movements in Ancient Panjab. Delhi, Patna, Varanasi: M. Banarsidass. p. 77.