Kamat or Kamath is a surname from
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
and
coastal Karnataka in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It is found among
Hindus
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
of the
Goud Saraswat Brahmin,
Saraswat and
Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin communities following
Madhva Sampradaya of either
Gokarna Matha or
Kashi Matha.
Variations
Kāmat is a common surname of Konkani Saraswat Brahmins and of a few
Konkani __NOTOC__
Konkani may refer to:
Language
* Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India.
* Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language
**Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
Hindus of Goa, Maharashtra,
Damaon &
Canara. "Kāmat" is mostly used in the
Konkan
The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...
area which includes Goa, Maharashtra and around the
North Canara
Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...
district in Karnataka. ''Kāmath'' is used by Brahmins around
Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada district is located in the states and territories of India, state of Karnataka in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east and the ...
and
Udupi district
Udupi district (also Udipi () in Kannada or Odipu () in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara old north Malabar c ...
s and of Karnataka and
Hosdurg in Kerala. "Camotim" was used in the erstwhile
Portuguese Goa
The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...
but has given way to "Kāmat" today.
"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
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
.
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 Kāmat.
*
Hari Vishnu Kamath, Freedom fighter and member of the Forward Bloc movement led by Subash Chandra Bose
*
Chandrika Kamath, Computer scientist
*
Digambar Kamat, Chief Minister of Goa (2007 to 2012)
*
Durgabai Kamat (1899–1997), first actress of
Indian cinema
The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
, debuted in ''
Mohini Bhasmasur'' (1913), second movie of Phalke
*
Ninad Kamat, Marathi and Hindi actor
*
Umesh Kamat
Umesh Kamat (born 12 December 1978) is an Indian actor and model, who predominantly works in Marathi-language regional films, television series, plays and TV commercials. Kamat has been recipient of Maharashtra State Film Awards for film Samar ...
, Marathi actor
*
K. V. Kamath, Notable banker
*
Nithin Kamath, Co-founder and CEO of Zerodha
*
Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder of Zerodha
*
Manvita Kamath, Kannada actress
*
Rekha Kamat, Marathi actress
See also
*
Christian Brahmins
*
Christian Kshatriyas
Citations
References
*.
{{surname, Kamat
Surnames of Indian origin
Karnataka society
Konkani-language surnames