Kamat

Kamat or 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=kamath |title=Kamath Family History |website=Oxford University Press |publisher=Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press}}

Variations

Kāmat is a common surname of Konkani Saraswat Brahmins and of a few Konkani Hindus of Goa, Maharashtra, Damaon & Canara. "Kāmat" is mostly used in the Konkan area which includes Goa, Maharashtra and around the North Canara district in Karnataka. Kāmath is used by Brahmins around Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and of Karnataka and Hosdurg in Kerala. "Camotim" was used in the erstwhile Portuguese Goa but has given way to "Kāmat" today.{{harvnb|Saradesāya|2000|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1YILeUD_oZUC&pg=PA24 24]}} "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.Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999, p. 137

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{{cn|date=February 2023}} 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, debuted in Mohini Bhasmasur (1913), second movie of Phalke{{cite news |title=Indian cinema@100: First women on screen: Durgabai Kamat and her daughter Kamlabai Ghokhle |author=Riya Chakravarty |url=http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/indian-cinema-100-40-firsts-in-indian-cinema-362362 |publisher=NDTV |date=3 May 2013 |accessdate=9 May 2013 |archive-date=4 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504160827/http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/indian-cinema-100-40-firsts-in-indian-cinema-362362 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |title=Vikram Gokhale has an illustrious family lineage|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-23/did-you-know-/32605578_1_lineage-artiste-durgabai-kamat |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629123325/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-23/did-you-know-/32605578_1_lineage-artiste-durgabai-kamat |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 June 2013 |date=23 Jan 2013 |work=The Times of India|accessdate=9 May 2013}}
Ninad Kamat, Marathi and Hindi actor
Umesh Kamat, 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