Kulkarni is a family name native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The name "Kulkarni" is a combination of two words (''kula'' and ''karni''). ''Kula'' means "family", and ''Karanika'' means "archivist". Historically, Kulkarni was the title given to the village record keeper. As per the historian P.J. Marshall, both Kulkarni and

Deshpande Deshpande is a surname native to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The surname can be also found in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Deshpande surname is found among the Deshastha Brahmins, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and the Chan ...

were specialized

scribes A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promin ...

who "served great households and enhanced other, familiar, administrative mechanisms at their disposal".

History

Before British rule, the Maharashtra region was divided into many revenue divisions. The medieval equivalent of a county or district was the pargana. The chief of the pargana was called

Deshmukh Deshmukh (IAST:Dēśamukh), is a historical title conferred to the rulers of a . It is used as a surname in certain regions of India, specifically in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh whose family received it as a ...

and record keepers were called

. The lowest administrative unit was the village. Village society in Marathi areas included the Patil or the head of the village, collector of revenue, and Kulkarni, the village record-keeper. These were hereditary positions. The Patil usually came from the Maratha caste. The Kulkarni was usually from literate communities such as Brahmin (mainly from

Deshastha Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

and the

Karhade Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Classification Along w ...

sub-castes) and

CKP Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) is a caste group mainly found in Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpandes and Gadkaris and according to the histor ...

castes. The Kulkarni operated at the village level but at a pargana level, the recordkeeper had titles such as Deshkulkarni, Deshpande, or Nadkarni (in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

). The Kulkarni watans (land rights) were abolished in 1950.

Notable Kulkarni

Saints

Dnyaneshwar Sant Dnyaneshwar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ɲaːn̪eʃʋəɾ, also referred to as Jnaneshwar, Jnanadeva, Dnyandev or Mauli or Dnyaneshwar Vitthal Kulkarni (1275–1296), was a 13th-century Indian Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi ...

: Pre-sainthood name: Dnyandev Kulkarni 1275–1296 *

Eknath Eknath (IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi pronunciation: knath (1533–1599), commonly known as Sant Eknath was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity Vitthal and is a major figure of the Warkari movement ...

: Pre-sainthood name: Eknāth Kulkarni : 1533–1599 *

Samarth Ramdas Samarth Ramdas (c. 1608 - c. 1681), also known as Sant Ramdas or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman. Early life Ramdas or previously N ...

: Pre-sainthood name: Narayan Kulkarni (Thosar): 1608–1681 *

Nivruttinath Nivruttinath (c. 11 February 1273 – 24 June 1297) was a 13th-century Marathi Bhakti saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Vaishnava Nath tradition. He was the elder brother and the mentor (guru) of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint. ...

: Pre-sainthood name: Nivrutti Kulkarni : Elder brother and teacher of Dnyaneshwar *

Sopan Sant Sopandeo was a sant of the Varkari and also the younger brother of Dnyaneshwar. Sopan(19 November 1277 A.D- 29 December 1296 A.D), attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation of ...

: Pre-sainthood name: Sopan Kulkarni *

Muktabai Muktabai or Mukta was a saint in the Varkari Movement. She was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family and was the younger sister of Dnyaneshwar, the first Varkari saint. She wrote forty-one abhangs throughout her life. Early life Muktabai's ...

: Pre-sainthood name: Mukta Kulkarni *

Mahipati Mahipati (1715 - 1790) was an 18th century Marathi language hagiographer who wrote biographies of prominent Hindu Vaishnava sants who had lived between the 13th and the 17th centuries in Maharashtra and other regions of India. Early life Mahip ...

: Chronicler of many Indian saints, author of the Bhaktavijaya: (1715–1790)

Historic Figures

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Ramchandra Neelkanth Bawadekar (1650–1716), also known as Ramchandra Pant Amatya, served on the Council of 8 ('' Ashta Pradhan'') as the Finance Minister (''Amatya'') to Emperor (''Chhatrapati'') Shivaji, dating from 1674 to 1680.

: 1650–1716 The third Peshwa, Finance Minister (Amatya) to Emperor (Chhatrapati) Shivaji and Imperial Regent (Hukumat Panah) * Parshuram Trimbak Kulkarni: 1660–1718 Held post of

Pant Pratinidhi Pant Pratinidhi family is a prominent aristocratic noble family of India, who served as Pratinidhis to Chhatrapatis of Maratha Empire and later became rulers of the Princely states of Aundh and Vishalgad. The Pant Pratinidhi's were officer' ...

, the fifth

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

and the founder of Aundh and

Vishalgad Vishalgad (also called Vishalgarh, Khelna or Khilna) was a jagir during the Maratha Empire and then later part of the Deccan States Agency of the British Raj. It was governed by Deshastha Brahmins, who were feudatories of Kolhapur State. Fort ...

princely states.

Entertainment

Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting A ...

: Marathi film and theater actor * Anurag Kulkarni: Indian playback singer *

Chandrakant Kulkarni Chandrakant Kulkarni (born 1963) is an Indian director, script writer and actor associated with Marathi theatre and film. He is known for his works of directing the plays ''Wada Chirebandi'', ''Dhyanimani'', ''Gandhi Virudh Gandhi'' and most r ...

: Film director *

Dhondutai Kulkarni Dhondutai Kulkarni, (23 July 1927 – 1 June 2014) was an Indian classical singer from the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She was the last legendary exponent of orthodox Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana. Early life Dhondutai was born in a Brahmin family in Kolh ...

: Vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli Ghara *

Girish Kulkarni Girish Pandurang Kulkarni (born 25 November 1977) is an Indian actor, writer, and producer. He is a recipient of two National Film Awards namely, National Film Award for Best Actor in 2011 for his performance in ''Deool'' and National Film Awar ...

: Marathi film actor *

Mamta Kulkarni Mamta Kulkarni is a former Indian actress and model known for her work in Hindi cinema. She has appeared in commercial successful Hindi films such as ''Aashiq Awara'' (1993), ''Waqt Hamara Hai'' (1993), '' Krantiveer'' (1994), ''Karan Arjun'' (1 ...

: Bollywood actress *

Mrinal Dev-Kulkarni Mrinal Deo-Kulkarni (born 21 June 1971) is a senior film, TV actress and director of India. She is better known for her role as Meerabai in doordarshan's Meerabai seriel and angel in Hindi TV serial ''Son Pari''. She has acted in Marathi langu ...

: Marathi television actress. * Saleel Kulkarni: Marathi singer and composer * Sameep Kulkarni: International Artist and Sitarist *

Sandeep Kulkarni Sandeep Kulkarni (born 16 November) is an Indian actor and painter. He has worked in Marathi films as well as theatre. Early life and background Born in Pune, Sandeep was raised in a Maharashtrian middle-class family by father Shrikant Kulka ...

: Marathi actor *

Sonali Kulkarni Sonali Kulkarni (born 3 November 1974) is an Indian actress, producer, and writer who primarily appears in Marathi and Hindi films. She has also appeared in Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati and English films. She has worked in over 70 films, both ...

: Bollywood actress *

Sonalee Kulkarni Sonalee Benodekar (née 'Kulkarni; born 18 May 1988) is an Indian actress who mainly acts in Marathi cinema and Bollywood films. After working as a model in her early career, Sonalee made her debut in Kedar Shinde's film Bakula Namdeo Ghotale ...

Marathi film Marathi cinema is an Indian film industry of Marathi-language motion pictures. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Based in old Mumbai, it is the oldest film industry of Indian cinema. The first Marathi film to be released in India was '' S ...

actress *

Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni is a Marathi film director. He is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India ( FTII), Pune. He is known for Marathi films such as '' Valu'' (The Wild Bull), '' Vihir'' (The Well), ''Deool'' (The Temple) a ...

: Film Director * Harshavardhan Kulkarni: Filmmaker

Literature

G. A. Kulkarni G. A. Kulkarni (Gurunath Abaji Kulkarni), or known simply as "GA" (10 July 1923 – 11 December 1987; Marathi: जी. ए. कुलकर्णी, "जीए"), was a legendary Sahitya Akademi Award winner Marathi writer of short stories. G ...

(1923–1987): Short story writer

Sports

Nilesh Kulkarni Nilesh Moreshwar Kulkarni (born 3 April 1973) is a former Indian cricketer. He is a slow left-arm bowler and left-handed lower order batsman who stood large at 6 ft 6 inches. Kulkarni was one of the many Mumbai players that got picked fo ...

: Indian cricketer * Raju Kulkarni: Former Indian cricketer *

Shubhangi Kulkarni Shubhangi Kulkarni (born 19 July 1959) is a former Indian cricketer and one of the game's most successful administrators. She received India's highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award in 1985. She was the secretary of the Women's Cricket Associat ...

: Indian woman cricketer and secretary of the Women's Cricket Association of India * Vineet Kulkarni: Indian cricket umpire and member of the International Cricket Council's International Panel of Umpires and Referees *

Dhawal Kulkarni Dhawal Sunil Kulkarni (born 10 December 1988) is an Indian cricketer as well as first class cricketer. He is a right arm medium-pace bowler and right-handed lower order batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Mumbai and in the Indian Pre ...

Indian cricketer, fast bowler from Mumbai.

Professionals

* Radhika Kulkarni: Indian and American operations researcher, president of

INFORMS The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger o ...

Ravi S. Kulkarni Ravindra Shripad Kulkarni (born 1942) is an Indian mathematician, specializing in differential geometry. He is known for the Kulkarni–Nomizu product. Education and career Ravi S. Kulkarni received in 1968 his Ph.D. from Harvard University under ...

(born 1942): Indian mathematician * Sudha Kulkarni Murty:

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

writer, Founder of Sudha Murty Foundation and wife of Narayan Murthy *

Sri Preston Kulkarni Srinivas Rao Preston Kulkarni (born October 8, 1978) is an American diplomat and politician who was the Democratic nominee for in both 2020 and in 2018. In 2018, he lost to incumbent Congressman Pete Olson. In 2020, Kulkarni was defeated by For ...

(born 1978): American diplomat and politician * Srinivas Kulkarni:Shrinivas Ramchandra Kulkarni (born 4 October 1956) is a US-based astronomer born and raised in India.

References

{{Reflist Surnames Indian surnames Indian feudalism Indian words and phrases Marathi-language surnames