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Updated January 10, 2024

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Family name origins & meanings

  • Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi : Muslim and Hindu status name for a head of a community or caste, from Sanskrit čatus- ‘four-way’, ‘all-round’ + dhurīya ‘undertaking a burden (of responsibility)’ (Sanskrit dhura ‘burden’). The title was originally awarded to persons of eminence, both Muslims and Hindus, by the Mughal emperors. The Khatris have a clan called Chowdhury. In some traditions the term is said to derive from a title for a military commander controlling four different fighting forces, namely navy, cavalry, infantry, and elephant corps, but this is probably no more than folk etymology.

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