Banerjee
Encyclopedia
Banerjee or Bandyopadhyay ( Bôndopaddhae) is a prevalent brahmin
surname
in the Bengal
region of India. The name is also spelt Bannerjee, Banerji, Bonnerjee and Bandopadhyaya by different families.
, who in the past were considered the highest caste in Bengal (along with Mukherjee
s, Chatterjee
s and Gangulis). They are descendents of the Bhattanarayana (originally from Uttar Pradesh) and members of the Sandilya gotra. During the Bengal renaissance
and Young Bengal
movement some of the people with Bandopadhyaya surname converted into Christianity
and anglicized their name as Banerjee (or some into Bonnerjee). Recent genetic studies have shown that high percentage of Y-DNA haplogroup R1a1a is observed among these people which is very common in West Bengal Brahmins (72%).
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
in the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
region of India. The name is also spelt Bannerjee, Banerji, Bonnerjee and Bandopadhyaya by different families.
History
Banerjee's are Kulin BrahminsKulin Brahmins
Kulin Brahmins are those Brahmins in Bengal who can trace themselves to the five families of Kanauj , Uttar Pradesh who migrated to Bengal...
, who in the past were considered the highest caste in Bengal (along with Mukherjee
Mukherjee
Mukherjee , Mookerjee or Mukerji or Mukherji is a Bengali surname, common among residents of the Indian state of West Bengal. The traditional Bengali version is মুখোপাধ্যায়, which is sometimes written Mukhopadhyay, which is alternately spelled as Mookerjee or Mukerji...
s, Chatterjee
Chatterjee
Chatterjee is an Indian family name of a Bengali Brahmin caste; it is a variant of Chattopadhyay .Chattopadhyay is the Sanskritized form of the local Prakrit word "chaturjye", anglicized to Chatterjee...
s and Gangulis). They are descendents of the Bhattanarayana (originally from Uttar Pradesh) and members of the Sandilya gotra. During the Bengal renaissance
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
and Young Bengal
Young Bengal
The Young Bengal movement was a group of radical Bengali free thinkers emerging from Hindu College, Calcutta in the early 19th century. They were also known as Derozians, after their firebrand teacher at Hindu College, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio....
movement some of the people with Bandopadhyaya surname converted into Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and anglicized their name as Banerjee (or some into Bonnerjee). Recent genetic studies have shown that high percentage of Y-DNA haplogroup R1a1a is observed among these people which is very common in West Bengal Brahmins (72%).
Notable people with the surname Banerjee
Academics
- Abhijit BanerjeeAbhijit BanerjeeAbhijit Vinayak Banerjee is an Indian economist. He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
India - Amiya Charan BanerjeeAmiya Charan BanerjeeAmiya Charan Banerjee was a mathematician and educator popularly known as A.C.Banerjee or simply as Professor Banerjee.-Family background:...
India - Ishwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE , born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya , was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance....
, key figure of the Bengal renaissanceBengal RenaissanceThe Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
India - Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay India
- Tarashankar BandopadhyayTarashankar BandopadhyayTarasankar Bandyopadhyay was one of the leading Bengali novelists. He wrote 65 novels, 53 story-books, 12 plays, 4 essay-books, 4 autobiographies and 2 travel stories...
India - Manik Banerjee India
- Sharadindu BandyopadhyaySharadindu BandyopadhyaySharadindu Bandyopadhyay was a well known literary figure of Bengal. He was also actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. His most famous creation is the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi.He wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories, plays and screenplays...
India - Atin Banerjee India
Culture
- Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniChitra Banerjee DivakaruniChitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program....
India - Dibakar BanerjeeDibakar BanerjeeDibakar Banerjee is an Indian film director and screenwriter, who is most known for films, Khosla Ka Ghosla , Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! , which he also wrote, both of which won National Film Awards...
, film director, India - Kali Bannerjee, actor, India
- Kanu BanerjeeKanu BanerjeeKanu Banerjee was an actor of Bengali Cinema. He is best known for his portrayal of Harihar Ray, father of Apu, in Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali and Aparajito...
India - Karuna BanerjeeKaruna BanerjeeKaruna Banerjee was a Bengali actress immortalized by her roles in Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy as the long suffering mother, Sarbajaya. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 1959 BAFTA Awards for her performance in Aparajito , the second part of The Apu Trilogy...
India - Nikhil BanerjeeNikhil BanerjeeNikhil Ranjan Banerjee was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar Gharana who played the stringed instrument sitar.-Early life and background:...
India - Rachana BanerjeeRachana BanerjeeRachana Banerjee is a Bengali actress in Calcutta-based Bengali Cinema at Tollywood.She was born on October 2, 1978 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Apart from Bengali movies she has also done several Oriya movies, many along with Siddhanta Mahapatra...
, actor India - Rina BanerjeeRina BanerjeeRina Banerjee is an Indian born, New York based artist of international repute.-Biography:Banerjee was born in Kolkata in 1963 and moved with her family to the UK and then to USA...
United States - Ruprekha BanerjeeRuprekha BanerjeeRuprekha Banerjee was one of the three finalists of Fame Gurukul, one of the most watched television shows in India - along with Rex D'Souza and Qazi Touqeer. On 20 October 2005, she managed to grab the top prize along with Qazi Touqeer....
India - Sarnath BanerjeeSarnath BanerjeeSarnath Banerjee is an Indian graphic novelist, artist, and film maker.-Biography:Banerjee was born in Calcutta and lives and works in Delhi, India. He studied image and communication at Goldsmiths College, University of London....
India - Victor BanerjeeVictor BanerjeeVictor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi, Bengali and English language films. He has also appeared on a number of TV series on Indian television...
, actor, India - Jenni BanerjeeJenni BanerjeeJenni Pauliina Banerjee is a Finnish actress. She has appeared in movies such as Pahat Pojat , Joensuun Elli and Lieksa!...
, actress,
Finland - Bidisha Bandyopadhyay, writer/broadcaster (doesn't generally use her surname)
Politics
- Ambica BanerjeeAmbica BanerjeeAmbica Banerjee is a member of the 15th Lok Sabha. He was elected as a Trinamool Congress candidate from Howrah . A mechanical engineer by qualification he was born on 28 August 1928....
India - Mamata BanerjeeMamata BanerjeeMamata Banerjee is the 11th and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 and became chairperson, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
, politician, India - Womesh Chandra BanerjeeWomesh Chandra BonnerjeeWomesh Chandra Banerjee was an Indian politician and the first president of Indian National Congress.- Early days :...
, first president of Indian National Congress, India - Surendranath Banerjee, politician, India
- Rajat Banerjee, politician, India
- Kalyan Banerjee, politician, India
Sports
- Audrish BanerjeeAudrish BanerjeeAudrish Banerjee was an Indian cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler who played for Bengal. He was born in Belurmath....
India - Dola BanerjeeDola BanerjeeDola Banerjee is an Indian sportswoman who competes in archery.-Early life:Dola Banerjee is daughter of Ashok Banerjee and Kalpana Banerjee. She was born in Baranagar near Kolkata. She studied in Baranagar Rajkumari Memorial Girls High School. At the age of nine, she joined Baranagar Archery Club...
India - Pradip Kumar BanerjeePradip Kumar BanerjeePradip Kumar Banerjee or PK Banerjee as he is called often, is one of the famous football players in India. He was born in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. He was one of the first recipients of Arjuna Award, when the awards were instituted in 1961. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award in...
India - Rahul Banerjee (archer)Rahul Banerjee (archer)Rahul Banerjee is an Indian sportsman who competes in archery. He is son of Ashok Banerjee and Kalpana Banerjee....
India - Vikram BanerjeeVikram BanerjeeVikram Banerjee is an English cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm slow bowler.Banerjee's first-class career started in 2004, playing the university varsity match for Cambridge University, with a second exactly a year later...
- Shivaji Banerjee (Footballer) India
- Prasun Banerjee (Footballer) India
- Prasanta Banerjee (Footballer) India
- Sayak Banerjee (Cricketer) India
- Sambaran Banerjee (Cricketer) India
Other
- Gooroodas BanerjeeGooroodas BanerjeeSir Gooroodas Banerjee, KCIE was a Bengali Indian judge of the Calcutta High Court. In 1890, he also became the first Indian Vice-Chancellor of University of Calcutta...
India - Krishna Mohan BanerjeeKrishna Mohan BanerjeeKrishna Mohan Banerjee was a prominent member of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio’s Young Bengal group, educationist, linguist and Christian missionary.-Early life:...
India - Subhankar BanerjeeSubhankar BanerjeeSubhankar Banerjee is an artist, educator and activist whose images of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other Alaskan wild lands have captured international attention....
India - Robin BanerjeeRobin BanerjeeRobin Banerjee was a noted wildlife expert, environmentalist, painter, photographer and documentary filmmaker who lived at Golaghat in the Indian state of Assam.-Biography:...
India - Arunjoy Banerjee India
- Soumyendu Banerjee India
- Kalyan BanerjeeKalyan BanerjeeKalyan Banerjee is President of Rotary International, one of the largest humanitarian service organizations in the world. He took office on July 1, 2011. He took over from Ray Klinginsmith. He leads a world wide network of 1.2 million individuals from more than 200 countries and geographical...
, President Rotary InternationalRotary InternationalRotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...