Kamat

Kamat (also spelt as Kamath) is a surname from Goa, Maharashtra and coastal Karnataka in India. It is found among Hindus of the Goud Saraswat Brahmin, Saraswat and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin communities following Madhva Sampradaya of either Gokarna Matha or Kashi Matha.[1]

Variations

Kāmat is a common surname of Konkani Saraswat Brahmins and of a few Konkani Roman Catholics of Goa, Maharashtra and Canara. "Kāmat" is mostly used in the Konkan area which includes Goa,Maharashtra and around the Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. Kāmath is used by Brahmins around Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and of Karnataka and Hosdurg in Kerala. The word has origin in the Sanskrit word of "Kāmati" (i.e. Kaam + Maati) meaning "people who work in soil" or do farming or cultivate land. "Camotim" was used in the erstwhile Portuguese territory of Goa but has given way to "Kāmat" today.[2] "Camat" word is still in use in Indonesia which was a Portuguese colony at some point of time in the history. In Indonesia "Camat" means administrative and political head of the sub-district or taluk. Taluk may be said as kecamatan (spelled as ke-chamatan). The name is also in use among some Konkani Catholics who trace their ancestry to the Goud Saraswat Brahmins of Goa.[3]

There are many GSB and RSB families, original "Kāmats" from Goa who migrated to Karnataka and Maharashtra in the 16th Century to escape Catholic persecution of Hindus under Portuguese rule and they adopted the place name from Goa where they originally belonged to.

Notable people

The following is a list of notable people with last name Kāmath/Kāmat.

  • Digambar Kamat, Chief Minister of Goa (2007 to 2012)
  • Durgabai Kamat (1899 - 1997), first actress of Indian cinema, debuted in Mohini Bhasmasur (1913), second movie of Phalke[4][5]
  • K. V. Kamath, Chairman of Infosys, Non-executive Chairman of ICICI Bank, Former MD and CEO of ICICI Bank and Forbes Asia Business of the Year 2007
  • Ninad Kamat, Marathi and Hindi Actor
  • Nishikant Kamath, Actor.
  • Umesh Kamat, Marathi Actor
  • M. V. Kamath, Veteran Indian journalist and broadcasting executive, and the Chairman of Prasar Bharati
  • Ameya Kamat, Neurosurgeon and man of the people.
  • Nitin Kamath, Indian businessman
  • Manjeshwar Ganesh Kamath, Advocate Supreme Court & Barrister

Citations
  1. "Kamath Family History". Oxford University Press. Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press.
  2. Saradesāya 2000, p. 24
  3. Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999, p. 137
  4. Riya Chakravarty (3 May 2013). "Indian cinema@100: First women on screen: Durgabai Kamat and her daughter Kamlabai Ghokhle". NDTV. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  5. "Vikram Gokhale has an illustrious family lineage". The Times of India. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.

References
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