Bengali Last Names

These Bengali last names are real family names from West Bengal and Bangladesh, listed A to Z with Bengali script and meanings. They include Brahmin names like Chatterjee, names like Bose and Ghosh, and Muslim names such as Rahman and Chowdhury.

171 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

Acharya আচার্য

Teacher; spiritual preceptor

Indian
Addy আঢ্য

Wealthy; rich, from Sanskrit adhya

Indian
Adhikari অধিকারী

Authority; officer in charge

Indian
Ahmed আহমেদ

Most praiseworthy

Arabic
Aich আইচ

Rare Bengali Kayastha surname; meaning uncertain

Indian
Akand আকন্দ

From akhund, teacher or scholar

Persian
Akter আক্তার

Star; common Bangladeshi women's surname

Persian
Alam আলম

World; banner

Arabic
Ali আলী

Exalted; noble

Arabic
Anwar আনোয়ার

Brighter; more luminous

Arabic
Awal আউয়াল

First

Arabic
Aziz আজিজ

Powerful; beloved

Arabic

B

Babu বাবু

Gentleman; respected sir

Indian
Bagchi বাগচী

Varendra Brahmin surname, possibly an old village title

Indian
Bairagi বৈরাগী

Renunciant; Vaishnava ascetic

Indian
Bandyopadhyay বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

Brahmin title, upadhyay (teacher) of Bandoghati

Indian
Banerjee বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

Anglicized Bandyopadhyay, teacher from Bandoghati village

Indian
Bardhan বর্ধন

Growing; prosperity

Indian
Barman বর্মন

Armor; protector, from Sanskrit varman

Indian
Basu বসু

Wealth; bright, from Sanskrit vasu

Indian
Begum বেগম

Lady; noblewoman, used by married women

Persian
Bepari বেপারী

Trader; merchant

Indian
Bera বেরা

Bengali surname from Medinipur; meaning uncertain

Indian
Bhaduri ভাদুড়ী

Varendra Brahmin surname of uncertain village origin

Indian
Bhattacharjee ভট্টাচার্য

Variant of Bhattacharya, learned teacher

Indian
Bhattacharya ভট্টাচার্য

Learned teacher; Brahmin scholar title

Indian
Bhaumik ভৌমিক

Variant of Bhowmik, landowner

Indian
Bhowmik ভৌমিক

Landowner; lord of the land (bhumi)

Indian
Bhuiyan ভূঁইয়া

Landlord; lord of the land

Indian
Bhuyan ভূঁইয়া

Variant of Bhuiyan, landlord

Indian
Biswas বিশ্বাস

Trust; faith; trusted official

Indian
Bose বসু

Anglicized Basu, wealth or bright

Indian
Burman বর্মন

Variant of Barman, armor or protector

Indian

C

Chakrabarti চক্রবর্তী

Variant of Chakraborty, emperor

Indian
Chakraborty চক্রবর্তী

Emperor; ruler of the wheel

Indian
Chanda চন্দ

Moon; fierce

Indian
Chandra চন্দ্র

Moon

Indian
Chatterjee চট্টোপাধ্যায়

Anglicized Chattopadhyay, teacher from Chatta village

Indian
Chattopadhyay চট্টোপাধ্যায়

Brahmin title, upadhyay (teacher) of Chatta village

Indian
Chaudhuri চৌধুরী

Variant of Chowdhury, landholder or headman

Indian
Chowdhury চৌধুরী

Holder of four parts; landholder or headman

Indian

D

Das দাস

Servant (of God); devotee

Indian
Dasgupta দাশগুপ্ত

Combined Baidya surname, servant and protected

Indian
Datta দত্ত

Variant of Dutta, given by God

Indian
Deb দেব

God; divine

Indian
Debnath দেবনাথ

Lord of the gods

Indian
Dey দে

Kayastha surname, possibly from deva, god

Indian
Dhali ঢালী

Shield bearer; soldier

Indian
Dhar ধর

Holder; bearer

Indian
Dutta দত্ত

Given, as by God

Indian
Duttagupta দত্তগুপ্ত

Combined Baidya surname, given and protected

Indian

F

Faruque ফারুক

One who distinguishes truth from falsehood

Arabic

G

Gangopadhyay গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়

Brahmin title, upadhyay (teacher) of Ganga village

Indian
Ganguly গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়

Anglicized Gangopadhyay, teacher from Ganga village

Indian
Ghatak ঘটক

Matchmaker; genealogist

Indian
Ghosh ঘোষ

Proclaimer; also cowherd settlement

Indian
Ghoshal ঘোষাল

Brahmin surname, possibly from Ghosh village

Indian
Giri গিরি

Mountain; Dashanami ascetic order name

Indian
Goswami গোস্বামী

Master of the senses; Vaishnava priestly title

Indian
Guha গুহ

Cave; epithet of the god Kartikeya

Indian
Gupta গুপ্ত

Protected; guarded

Indian

H

Hakim হাকিম

Wise; physician; judge

Arabic
Halder হালদার

Possibly from Persian hawaladar, a holder of a charge or office; of debated origin

Persian
Hansda হাঁসদা

Santal clan name; linked to the wild goose

Indian
Haque হক

Truth; right

Arabic
Hasan হাসান

Good; handsome

Arabic
Hawlader হাওলাদার

Variant of Howlader, land tenure holder

Persian
Hazra হাজরা

Commander of a thousand

Persian
Hembram হেমব্রম

Santal clan name

Indian
Hoque হক

Variant of Haque, truth

Arabic
Hossain হোসেন

Good; handsome little one

Arabic
Howlader হাওলাদার

Holder of a hawla, sub-tenure land grant

Persian
Hussain হুসাইন

Good; handsome little one

Arabic

I

Islam ইসলাম

Submission to God

Arabic

J

Jamal জামাল

Beauty

Arabic
Jana জানা

Bengali surname common in Medinipur; meaning uncertain

Indian

K

Kabir কবির

Great; noble

Arabic
Kabiraj কবিরাজ

Physician; Ayurvedic doctor

Indian
Kamal কামাল

Perfection

Arabic
Kanjilal কাঞ্জিলাল

Rare Brahmin surname of Bengal

Indian
Kar কর

Doer; hand; tax official

Indian
Karim করিম

Generous; noble

Arabic
Karmakar কর্মকার

Blacksmith; metalworker

Indian
Kazi কাজী

Judge; Islamic magistrate

Arabic
Khalil খলিল

Close friend

Arabic
Khan খান

Ruler; chief, a Turkic title

Persian
Khandaker খন্দকার

Landholder; teacher; old Bengal title

Persian
Khatun খাতুন

Lady; noblewoman

Persian
Khondoker খন্দকার

Variant of Khandaker, landholder or teacher

Persian
Kisku কিস্কু

Santal clan name

Indian
Kundu কুণ্ডু

Bengali trading surname, possibly from kunda, pool

Indian

L

Laha লাহা

Merchant surname, possibly from laksha, lac trade

Indian
Lahiri লাহিড়ী

Varendra Brahmin surname of uncertain village origin

Indian
Latif লতিফ

Gentle; kind

Arabic

M

Mahato মাহাতো

Headman; great one

Indian
Mahmud মাহমুদ

Praised; commendable

Arabic
Maitra মৈত্র

Friendly; related to Mitra

Indian
Maity মাইতি

Bengali surname from Medinipur; possibly from maitri, friendship

Indian
Majumdar মজুমদার

Keeper of records; revenue accountant

Persian
Majumder মজুমদার

Bangladeshi spelling of Majumdar, record keeper

Persian
Mallick মল্লিক

Chief; lord, from Arabic malik, king

Arabic
Mamun মামুন

Trustworthy; safe

Arabic
Mandal মণ্ডল

Variant of Mondal, village headman

Indian
Mannan মান্নান

Bountiful; generous giver

Arabic
Masud মাসুদ

Fortunate; lucky

Arabic
Mazumdar মজুমদার

Variant of Majumdar, record keeper

Persian
Mia মিয়া

Variant of Miah, respectful title

Persian
Miah মিয়া

Sir; master, a respectful title

Persian
Mirza মির্জা

Prince; son of a nobleman

Persian
Mitra মিত্র

Friend; also the sun deity Mitra

Indian
Molla মোল্লা

Learned man; religious teacher

Arabic
Mollah মোল্লা

Variant of Molla, religious teacher

Arabic
Mondal মণ্ডল

Village headman; circle or district

Indian
Mostafa মোস্তফা

The chosen one

Arabic
Mridha মৃধা

Old Bengali title for a local chief or officer

Indian
Mukherjee মুখোপাধ্যায়

Anglicized Mukhopadhyay, teacher from Mukhati village

Indian
Mukhopadhyay মুখোপাধ্যায়

Brahmin title, upadhyay (teacher) of Mukhati village

Indian
Mullick মল্লিক

Variant of Mallick, chief or lord

Arabic
Munshi মুন্সী

Writer; scribe; secretary

Arabic
Murmu মুর্মু

Santal clan name of West Bengal

Indian

N

Nabi নবী

Prophet

Arabic
Nag নাগ

Serpent; cobra

Indian
Nahar নাহার

Day; also river

Arabic
Nandi নন্দী

Joyful; name of Shiva's bull

Indian
Naskar নস্কর

Bengali surname, possibly from lashkar, soldier

Indian
Nur নূর

Light

Arabic

O

Ojha ওঝা

Teacher; priest; healer

Indian

P

Pal পাল

Protector; name of the Pala dynasty

Indian
Parvin পারভীন

The Pleiades star cluster

Persian
Patwary পাটোয়ারী

Village accountant; land record keeper

Indian
Poddar পোদ্দার

Treasurer; money changer; goldsmith

Persian
Podder পোদ্দার

Variant of Poddar, treasurer

Persian
Pramanik প্রামাণিক

Authoritative person; village arbiter

Indian

R

Rabbani রব্বানী

Divine; godly

Arabic
Rahim রহিম

Compassionate

Arabic
Rahman রহমান

The Most Merciful, a name of God

Arabic
Rakshit রক্ষিত

Protected; guarded

Indian
Rashid রশিদ

Rightly guided

Arabic
Ray রায়

Variant of Roy, king

Indian
Roy রায়

King; honorific title from raja

Indian

S

Saha সাহা

Merchant; trader, from sadhu or shah

Indian
Samanta সামন্ত

Feudal chief; vassal lord

Indian
Sanyal সান্যাল

Varendra Brahmin surname, possibly an old village title

Indian
Sardar সরদার

Chief; headman; leader

Persian
Sarder সরদার

Bangladeshi spelling of Sardar, chief

Persian
Sarkar সরকার

Chief of affairs; government official

Persian
Sarkhel সরখেল

Chief commander; head of a group

Persian
Sarwar সারোয়ার

Chief; leader

Persian
Seal শীল

Virtuous character; good conduct

Indian
Sen সেন

Army; name of a medieval Bengal dynasty

Indian
Sengupta সেনগুপ্ত

Combined Baidya surname, army and protected

Indian
Shahriar শাহরিয়ার

King; sovereign

Persian
Sheikh শেখ

Elder; chief; respected leader

Arabic
Shikder শিকদার

Bangladeshi spelling of Sikdar, district officer

Persian
Siddique সিদ্দিক

Truthful; faithful

Arabic
Sikdar শিকদার

Revenue officer of a shiq (district)

Persian
Sil শীল

Variant of Seal, virtue

Indian
Sinha সিংহ

Lion

Indian
Sobhan সোবহান

Glory; praise of God

Arabic
Soren সরেন

Santal clan name

Indian
Sultana সুলতানা

Queen; female ruler

Arabic
Syed সৈয়দ

Master; descendant of the Prophet

Arabic

T

Tagore ঠাকুর

Anglicized Thakur, lord or master

Indian
Talukdar তালুকদার

Holder of a taluk, landed estate

Persian
Talukder তালুকদার

Bangladeshi spelling of Talukdar, estate holder

Persian
Thakur ঠাকুর

Lord; master; deity

Indian
Tudu টুডু

Santal clan name

Indian

U

Uddin উদ্দিন

Of the faith

Arabic
Ullah উল্লাহ

Of God

Arabic

Y

Yasmin ইয়াসমিন

Jasmine flower

Persian

Z

Zaman জামান

Time; era

Arabic

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Results (6)

Kamal

কামাল

Perfection

Arabic
Nabi

নবী

Prophet

Arabic
Chakrabarti

চক্রবর্তী

Variant of Chakraborty, emperor

Indian
Murmu

মুর্মু

Santal clan name of West Bengal

Indian
Chowdhury

চৌধুরী

Holder of four parts; landholder or headman

Indian
Mandal

মণ্ডল

Variant of Mondal, village headman

Indian

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The most common Bengali last names and meanings

Among Bengali Hindus, some of the most frequent names are short and old. Das (দাস) means servant, often in the sense of servant of God, and Roy (রায়) comes from a word for king or chief. Dutta (দত্ত) means given, Sen (সেন) is linked to a word for army, Mitra (মিত্র) means friend and Pal (পাল) protector. Chakraborty (চক্রবর্তী) means universal ruler, and Bhattacharya (ভট্টাচার্য) a learned teacher, traditionally a Brahmin scholar.

Among Bengali Muslims, especially in Bangladesh, common names include Rahman (রহমান), from a word for merciful, along with Hossain, Islam, Ahmed and Khan. Titles from the Mughal era appear on both sides of the border. Chowdhury (চৌধুরী) meant a landholder or headman, Talukdar the holder of an estate, Sarkar an official and Majumdar a record keeper. Biswas (বিশ্বাস) means trust, and Mandal a village headman. Kazi means judge and Mollah a religious teacher.

Anglicised names and the -opadhyay pattern

Four famous Brahmin names have two forms. Banerjee is Bandyopadhyay (বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়), Chatterjee is Chattopadhyay (চট্টোপাধ্যায়), Mukherjee is Mukhopadhyay (মুখোপাধ্যায়) and Ganguly is Gangopadhyay (গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়). The long forms join a traditional ancestral village name to upadhyay, teacher. During British rule these were shortened in English to forms ending in -jee, from ji, a mark of respect, and both forms are still used. The novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is also known as Chatterjee.

Other names were reshaped in the same period. Basu became Bose, Thakur became Tagore, Mitra sometimes became Mitter and Dutta became Dutt. Rabindranath Tagore's family name was Thakur, meaning lord, and the English spelling became world famous through his work. Many Bengalis today write the long form in Bengali and the short form in English. A cricketer or actor might be known as Ganguly or Banerjee in English while being written Gangopadhyay or Bandyopadhyay in a Bengali newspaper.

Tips for reading and choosing Bengali last names

Bengali pronunciation explains many English spellings. The short a is often said like o, so Basu is pronounced Bosu, which gave Bose, and the v of Sanskrit usually becomes b, so Vishvas became Biswas. Spellings also vary widely: Chowdhury, Choudhury and Chaudhuri are one name, and so are Chakraborty and Chakravarty. When searching the list, try o for a, b for v and single for double letters. The Bengali script beside each name confirms the original.

Many names hint at community and region, but some are shared. Chowdhury, Sarkar, Biswas and Mandal are used by Hindu and Muslim families alike. In Bangladesh, many people have no fixed family name, and the last part of a personal name, like Uddin or Islam, is treated as a surname on documents. Women often use Begum or Khatun. The large Bangladeshi community in London, mostly from Sylhet, has made names like Miah, Ali and Uddin familiar in Britain.

Frequently asked questions

Why do Bengali last names have two English spellings?

Some long Bengali names were shortened during British rule, so Chattopadhyay became Chatterjee and Bandyopadhyay became Banerjee. Others were spelled to match Bengali pronunciation, turning Basu into Bose. Families often use both forms today, depending on language and context.

What does Chowdhury mean?

Chowdhury comes from a title for a landholder, tax collector or village headman used under Mughal and later rule. It is shared by Hindu and Muslim families across Bengal and appears in many spellings, including Choudhury, Chaudhuri and Chowdhury.

Why do Bangladeshi women often have the name Begum?

Begum is an honorific for a woman of rank, originally from Turkic and Persian use. In Bangladesh and among Bangladeshis abroad, many women use Begum or Khatun in the place of a surname, especially on official forms, rather than their father's or husband's name.

Why is Basu written as Bose?

In Bengali, the short a is often pronounced like o, so Basu is said Bosu. English spellings that followed the sound, rather than the Sanskrit form, produced Bose. Well known bearers include the physicist Satyendra Nath Bose and the leader Subhas Chandra Bose.