[Beerinkol]

Good imagination thiru sudhama. Mudaliyar did not specify scholar title.

The people who did agriculture were considered as people of high rank because Agriculture job was considered as high ranking job in olden days. See thirukkural ' Sulandrum air pinathu ulagam'-means all jobs are centred through agriculture.

The caste vellala was formed like this. vellam+all-means overrule water. (see 'vellalar nagarigam' by maraimalai adigal).

The same vellalar are placed in upper caste position when sanskritisation was going on in tamilnadu.

They had surname as 'pillai'. The aim of other castes who performed other jobs was to transform into agriculturist. All the other caste people, after getting enough savings from their jobs, tried to acquire some land for agriculture and had surname as pillai. That is why in all castes including the people who are classified as scheduled class now had 'pillai' as surnames.

In brahminical hierchy , vellalars are placed first as equally as brahmins. That is why they had the surname with 'mudali / mudaliyar'(means first in brahminical system).
All 'Atheenams' head in temples of tamilnadu are vellalar caste people.

All vellalars of pillai surname had marriage alliance with vellalars of surname mudaliyar. This is true now also.

Note mudaliyar is surname not main caste. There is no mudaliyar caste in tamilnadu but called like that because their surname is mudaliyar. Castewise they are vellalars only.

Compare 'Kongu vellalars' having surname only goundar.

The other varieties of mudaliyar surname is due to their previous job before they transformed into agriculturists.

This shows the perception of people of yesteryears to become higher rank caste by adapting agriculture.

'Moily' a kananada surname is having the same meaning.