The Ezhavas (Īḻavar) are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala. They are also known as Ilhava, Irava, Izhava and Erava in the south of the region; as Chovas, Chokons and Chogons in Central Travancore; and as Tiyyas, Thiyas and Theeyas in Malabar. The Malabar Tiyya group have claimed a higher ranking in the Hindu caste system than do the others, although from the perspective of the colonial and subsequent administrations they were treated as being of similar rank.

As well as being agricultural laborers, small cultivators, toddy tappers, and liquor businessmen, some Ezhavas were also involved in weaving and some practised ayurvedic medicine. Ezhava dynasties such as the Izhathu Mannanars also existed in Kerala. The Chekavar, a warrior section within the community, were part of the militias of local chieftains and kings. There were also renowned Kalari Payattu experts among them.

The etymology of Ezhava is uncertain.

According to legend and some Malayalam folk songs, the Ezhavas were the progeny of four bachelors that the king of Ceylon sent to Kerala at the request of the Chera king Bhaskara Ravi Varma, in the 1st Century AD. These men were sent, ostensibly, to set up coconut farming in Kerala. Another version of the story says that the Sri Lankan King sent eight martial families to Kerala at the request of a Chera king to quell a civil war that had erupted in Kerala against him.^{[clarification needed]}

Ezhava is a caste-based community of Kerala, India. The following is a list of some prominent personalities who were born in the Ezhava caste.

Sri Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma (born 22 March 1922) is the scion of the former Travancore royal family.

He joined the firm of Plymouth and Company at Bangalore in 1952, working there and also studying the functioning of industries at a basic level. He is the Chief Scout of the regional Boy Scout troop, and is also a patron of local hospitals and charities.

He married Shrimati Radha Devi, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Krishnan Gopinath Pandalai, MB, CM, FRCS, LRCP, late IMS, sometime Supt. of the Government General Hospital, Madras. He has a son, Anantha Padmanabhan and a daughter, Parvathi Devi. He resides at Pattom Palace, Trivandrum.

Sri Padmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma Kulasekhara Kiritapati Manney Sultan Maharaja Raja Rama Raja Bahadur Shamsher Jung (26 September 1814 - 18 August 1860) was the Maharajah of Travancore state in southern India, succeeding his elder brother Maharajah Swathi Thirunal in 1846 till his demise in 1860. Known for his progressive rule, he abolished slavery in the kingdom. He was succeeded by his nephew Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal in 1860. His mother was Her Highness Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi. He was married to Thiruvattar Ammachi Panapillai Amma Srimathi Madhavi Pillai Kochamma of the Thiruvattar Ammaveedu, who died in 1860, a few months before the Maharajah's death. She was the younger sister of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal's consort. The Maharajah's daughter was married by his nephew and heir Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal.

The Maharajah also adopted Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi and Bharani Thirunal Parvathi Bayi from the related Kolathiri royal house in 1857 after the death of his niece to perpetuate the royal line.

Sri Nārāyana Guru (Malayalam: ശ്രീ നാരായണ ഗുരു) (1856–1928), also known as Sree Nārāyana Guru Swami, was a Hindu saint, sadhu^{[Full citation needed]} and social reformer of India. The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from backward communities like the Ezhavas faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society. Gurudevan, as he was fondly known to his followers, led Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against casteism and worked on propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and of social equality, thereby transforming the Kerala society and as such he is adored as a prophet.

Nārāyana Guru is revered for his Vedic knowledge^{[citation needed]}, poetic proficiency^{[citation needed]}, openness to the views of others^{[citation needed]}, non-violent philosophy^{[citation needed]} and his unrelenting resolve to set aright social wrongs. Nārāyana Guru was instrumental in setting the spiritual foundations for social reform in today's Kerala and was one of the most successful social reformers who tackled caste in India. He demonstrated a path to social emancipation without invoking the dualism of the oppressed and the oppressor.