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Wikipedia / Bhat

Bhat (also spelled Bhatt or Butt, ) is a Brahmin title and a surname used in the Indian subcontinent. Bhat and Bhatt are shortened renditions of Bhatta or Brahmabhatta.

Etymology

The word "Bhat" (, ) means "scholar" in Sanskrit. While the original shortened rendition of "Bhatta" was "Bhat" or "Bhatt," many of the Kashmiri Brahmin migrants to the Punjab region started spelling their surname as "Butt", which is the transliteration of the name when written using the Urdu/Persian alphabet (as opposed to Bhat when using the Devanagari alphabet).

Geographic distribution

Goa

The surname is in use among some Konkani Goud Saraswat Brahmins as well as Konkani Christians (who trace their ancestry to the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of Goa).

Kashmir

Batt or Butt (a local Kashmiri language form of Sanskrit language Brahmin title Bhatt) is a generic term used for all Brahmins or Kashmiri Pandit of Kashmir valley irrespective of their individual surnames, as well as the Kashmiri Brahmins who migrated to Punjab, a region now divided between India and the neighbouring Pakistan.

The Bhats who migrated to Punjab in the late 19th century and the early 20th century due to the 1878 drought, were Brahmin migrants from Kashmir, escaping discrimination by local rulers and seeking trade opportunities.

The surname is now shared by both Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims who mostly retained their Hindu last names.

Punjab

Some Bhats/Butts found in the Punjab region are descendants of those Kashmiri Brahmins who migrated to different cities of (undivided) Punjab from the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the 1878 famine in British India.

In Ludhiana, Kashmiris became known for their contribution to the handicraft arena.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

The word Bhaṭṭa (Kannada: ಭಟ್ಟ) or Bhaṭṭar (Tamil: பட்டர்) or Bhaṭṭu (Telugu: భట్టు) is traditionally used, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh usually to denote a "learned man" or a "scholar" (Brahmins), but also in other southern states.

It was originally used as an honorific like śāstri or paṇḍita, but has become a surname in parts of the country in modern times used as a family name rather than an honorific. In Southern Karnataka naming convention followed is such that, generally, one's father's name is kept as the surname irrespective of caste and many of these honorifics continue to be used as honorifics.

In earlier times a caste name or village name was used by the Tamils as their last name, but due to the influence of the Dravidian movement, Tamils of all castes have mostly given up caste surnames. However, women frequently adopt their father's or husband's name and take it for successive generations. But, honorific like Bhaṭṭar are still in use in spoken language rather than as a surname.

Notable individuals

Academics

Actors, models, technicians and musicians

Businesspeople

  • Baiju Bhatt (born 1984/1985), American billionaire, co-founder of Robinhood

Military

  • Malik Tazi Bhat, 15th-century warlord, from Jammu, who fought the Lodhi Dynasty

  • Muhammad Zaki Butt (1929–1993), former Air Commodore in the Pakistan Air Force and bodyguard of Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah

  • Tahir Rafique Butt (born 1955), 20th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force

  • Ziauddin Butt, former Chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence

Politics

Scientists

  • Atul Butte, researcher in biomedical informatics and biotechnology entrepreneur in Silicon Valley

  • Noor Muhammad Butt (born 1936), Pakistani nuclear physicist, research scientist, and chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation

  • Parvez Butt (born 1942), Pakistani nuclear engineer and former chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

Sports

Fictional

See also

References