Banerjee (Bengali: ব্যানার্জী), also known as Bandyopadhyay, is a Bengali Kulin Brahmin surname originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The surname belongs to the Rarhi clan of Bengali Brahmin caste.[1][2]
Lineage and ancestry
[edit]Banerjees are from the ancient Shandilya Gotra, which means all Banerjees are descended from Kannauj from the ancient sage Shandilya as per the Puranas.[3] Together with Mukherjees, Chatterjees, Bhattacharjees and Gangulys, Banerjees form the Kulin Brahmins.[2]
History
[edit]"Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: Hindu (Brahman) name, the first element of which, Ban-, is taken from Bandyopadhyay The final element -jee is derived from jha (greatly reduced form of Sanskrit upadhyaya 'teacher'); thus, Banerjee 'teacher who is head and only performs the main work aarti or, Vandana. A Sanskrit version of this name, Vandyopadhyaya, was coined from the elements vandya 'venerable' + upadhyaya 'teacher'. "
Notable people
[edit]Notable people with the surname Banerjee, Bandopadhyay, or variations, include:
- Alapan Bandyopadhyay, (born 1961) IAS Officer
- Anjan Bandyopadhyay, (1965 – 2021) journalist
- Abhijit Banerjee, (born 1961) Nobel laureate economist
- Abhishek Banerjee (actor)
- Abhishek Banerjee (politician)
- Albion Rajkumar Banerjee (1871 – 1950) an Indian civil servant and administrator
- Ambica Banerjee (1928 – 2013) a member of the 15th Lok Sabha.
- Audrish Banerjee (born 1975) an Indian former cricketer.
- Bhanu Banerjee, (1920 – 1983) actor and freedom activist
- Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (1895 – 1950), Indian writer
- Bidisha Bandyopadhyay, (born1978) writer, broadcaster
- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born 1956) Indian-born American author, poet, and professor.
- Dibakar Banerjee (born 1969) Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and advertisement-filmmaker.
- Dola Banerjee (born 1980) is an Indian sportswoman who competes in archery
- Gargi Banerjee, cricketer
- Gooroodas Banerjee, (1844 –1918) aka Gurudas Bandyopadhyay, Bengali Indian High Court judge
- Gopeshwar Banerjee (1880–1963) an Indian classical singer and musicologist,
- Haradhan Bandopadhyay, (1926 – 2013) a Bengali Indian actor
- Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (1820 – 1891) Indian educator and social reformer
- Jenni Banerjee, (born 1981) Finnish actress with Indian ancestry.
- John Banerjee (1873 – ?) the second non-European bishop of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon
- Kali Banerjee, actor
- Kali Charan Banerjee
- Kalyan Banerjee
- Kanika Bandyopadhyay (1924–2000), singer
- Kanu Banerjee (1905–1985), actor (Pather Panchali)
- Karuna Banerjee (1919–2001), actress (Pather Panchali)
- Krishna Mohan Banerjee
- Kaushik Banerjee, actor
- Kaustav Banerjee, American electrical engineer
- Mamata Banerjee, politician and Chief Minister of West Bengal
- Manik Bandopadhyay, writer, novelist
- Nikhil Banerjee, composer, musician
- Nyra Banerjee, Indian television actress and assistant director.
- Pradip Kumar Banerjee
- Prith Banerjee
- Pooja Banerjee, television actress
- Pratyusha Banerjee, television actress
- Puja Banerjee, film and television actress
- Pulak Bandyopadhyay, lyricist and songwriter
- Rachana Banerjee, actor
- Raghab Bandyopadhyay, prose writer
- Rahul Banerjee, archer
- R D Banerji, The discoverer of Mohenjo-daro, the principal site of the Indus Valley Civilisation
- Reba Bandyopadhyay (born 1972), American astronomer and science policy analyst
- Rina Banerjee
- Ruprekha Banerjee
- San Banarje, film director, producer, photographer
- Sanjay Banerjee, Indian engineer
- Sara Banerji, writer
- Sarnath Banerjee, artist
- Shakuntala Banerjee (born 1973), German journalist
- Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
- Sid Banerjee, an Indian-American pop singer, songwriter, and producer
- Somen Banerjee
- Subir Banerjee (born 1946), Indian actor
- Subir Kumar Banerjee (born 1939), Indian-American geophysicist
- Surendranath Banerjee, first Indian to qualify Indian Civil Service Examination
- Sushmita Banerjee, writer
- Syagnik Banerjee, scholar, author, and professor
- Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay, novelist
- Victor Banerjee, actor both in Tollywood, Bollywood and Hollywood
- Vikram Banerjee
- Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, first president of the Indian National Congress
See also
[edit]- Bandopadhyay, alternate transliteration
References
[edit]- ^ Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects: An Exposition of the Origin of the Hindu Caste System and the Bearing of the Sects Towards Each Other and Towards Other Religious Systems. Thacker, Spink. p. 38. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ Ghurye, Govind Sadashiv (1969). Caste and Race in India. Popular Prakashan. p. 257. ISBN 978-81-7154-205-5. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick (8 May 2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-19-977169-1.