Ghatak is an Indian family name and

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

found mostly among

Bengali Brahmin Bengali Brahmins are the community of 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 wi ...

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, 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 ...

and 19.6% were residents of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. 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 language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

(1: 7,406) * 2.

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

(1: 31,647) * 3.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

(1: 47,493) * 4.

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

(1: 72,229)

Notable people with the surname Ghatak

* Ajoy Ghatak (born 1939), Indian physicist * Anup Ghatak (1941–2013), Indian cricketer * Gita Ghatak (1931–2009), Indian actress and singer * Kaushik Ghatak (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 (1902–1979), Bengali poet and novelist *

Moloy Ghatak Moloy Ghatak (born 1956) is an Indian politician currently serving as Cabinet Minister in Government of West Bengal. Early life Ghatak hails from Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district. His father's name is Phani Bhusan Ghatak. He did his gradua ...

(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 Charlie Brooker. In ...

(born 1973), Indian-born English actor *

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Widely considered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, his works remained largely underrated and ignored during hi ...

(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