Ghatak is an

Indian family name Indian names are based on a variety of systems and naming conventions, which vary from region to region. Names are also influenced by religion and caste and may come from epics. India's population speaks a wide variety of languages and nearly ...

and

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

found amongst

Bengali Brahmin The Bengali Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Bengali Brahmins, along with Baidyas and ...

History

Ghataks (literally, one who makes things happen) or matchmakers were middleman who established links between the two parties in a marriage. In the past it was not the custom of Indian society, especially of Bengali society, to allow boys and girls to mix freely. This is why the services of Ghataks were widely used to arrange marriages. Many Ghataks were professionals, and matchmaking was their source of livelihood. When the matchmaking resulted in a wedding, Ghataks used to be rewarded by both parties. In the past, educated and respectable people used to take up matchmaking as a profession. They were known as 'Kulacharya' and used to maintain books with detailed histories of families. Some of these books have been used as sources for writing the history of Bengal. Some of the well-known matchmakers were Edu Mishra, Hari Mishra (c 13th century), Dhruvananda Mishra, Debibar Ghatak (15th century) and Nulo Panchanan (18th century). They used to enjoy a great deal of social prestige.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 78.2% of all known bearers of the surname ''Ghatak'' were residents of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and 19.6% were residents of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. In India, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average in the following states and union territories:Ghatak Surname Distribution
/ref> * 1.

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

(1: 7,406) * 2.

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

(1: 31,647) * 3.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

(1: 47,493) * 4.

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

(1: 72,229)

Notable people with the surname Ghatak

Ajoy Ghatak Ajoy Ghatak is an Indian physicist and author of physics textbooks. Ghatak has written over 170 research papers and more than 20 books. His undergraduate textbook on ''Optics'' has been translated to Chinese and Persian and his monograph on '' ...

(born 1939), Indian physicist * Anup Ghatak (1941–2013), Indian cricketer *

Gita Ghatak Gita Ghatak (Geeta Ghatak née Ganguly) (23 January 1931 – 17 November 2009) was an Indian actress and singer. She mainly acted in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. Gita Ghatak was also an exponent of ''Rabindra Sangeet''. She had her pri ...

(1931–2009), Indian actress and singer *

Kaushik Ghatak Kaushik Ghatak began his career in the entertainment industry in India on 14 February 1998 as an apprentice assistant to the prominent filmmaker, Anurag Basu. He has directed several television serials and a few advertisement films before he dir ...

(born 1971), Indian television and film director *

Maitreesh Ghatak Maitreesh Ghatak (born 7 February 1968) is an Indian economist who is the Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. He is an applied microeconomic theorist with research interests in economic development, public economics, and ...

(born 1968), Indian economist and academic *

Manish Ghatak Manish Ghatak (9 February 1902– 27 December 1979) was a Bengali poet and novelist. Personal life Manish Ghatak's parents were Suresh Chandra Ghatak and Indubala Devi. Noted Bengali film director Ritwik Ghatak was his youngest brother. Ghatak m ...

(1902–1979), Bengali poet and novelist *

Moloy Ghatak Moloy Ghatak is an Indian politician currently serving as Cabinet Minister in Government of West Bengal. Politics He is an MLA of All India Trinamool Congress, elected from the Asansol Uttar constituency of Paschim Bardhaman district in the ...

(born 1956), Indian politician *

Poulomi Ghatak Poulomi Ghatak (Bengali: পৌলমী ঘটক; born 3 January 1983) is a table tennis player from West Bengal, India. She won three junior national championships (1996, 1998 and 1999) as well as seven senior national championships between ...

(born 1983), Indian table tennis player *

Raj Ghatak Raj Ghatak is a British actor. He is known for diverse roles across stage and screen, notably as Sweetie in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bollywood musical ''Bombay Dreams'' and, as Grayson in the Channel 4 drama ''Dead Set'' written by Emmy-winning Charl ...

(born 1973), Indian-born English actor *

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was a noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily remembe ...

(1925–1976), Bengali filmmaker * Usha Ranjan Ghatak (1931–2005), Indian chemist

References

{{surname Surnames of Indian origin Bengali-language surnames Surnames of Hindu origin Bengali Hindu surnames