[2] The name of the attire is plausibly derived from Shirvan or Sherwan, a region of present-day Azerbaijan, due to the folk dress of that area (Chokha) which resembles the sherwani.
[6] It was gradually adopted by the rest of the royalty and aristocracy of the Indian subcontinent, and later by the general population, as a more evolved form of occasional traditional attire.
The achkan was worn on formal occasions in winter, especially by those from Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Jammu, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad.
[14] Following him, most people and government officials in Pakistan such as the President and Prime Minister started to wear the formal black sherwani over the shalwar kameez on state occasions and national holidays.
[15] In Sri Lanka, Sherwani was generally worn as the formal uniform of Mudaliyars and early Tamil legislators during the British colonial period.
Pakistani journalist, filmmaker and activist, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy appeared in sherwani when she won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2012 and 2015.