Bandopadhyays

Bandopadhyays, also transliterated as Bandopādhyāy, Bandyopadhyay, or Bandyopādhyāya, is a Bengali surname widely used among Bengali Hindus. The name is of Sanskrit origin, built from Upādhyāya, meaning teacher or learned person, combined with a prefix or lineage marker common in Bengali surname formation. In Bengal, Bandopadhyay has historically been associated with scholarly and priestly lineages, though today the surname is borne by people across social backgrounds and occupations, including the arts, academia, business, and public service. Spelling and pronunciation vary with transliteration and local usage, leading to multiple common forms.

Bandopadhyays are predominantly found in West Bengal and Bangladesh, with a broad presence in the Bengali-speaking diaspora worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Middle East. The surname is well known in Bengali literature and film, and it appears among numerous individuals who have contributed to arts, scholarship, and public life.

Notable bearers include Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (1894–1950), a seminal Bengali author renowned for Pather Panchali. The name appears across a wide range of writers, academics, politicians, and professionals in Bengal and among the Bengali-speaking diaspora, reflecting the surname’s broad geographic and social distribution.

See also: Bandyopadhyay (disambiguation) for variant spellings and notable individuals sharing the surname.