History

Ganguly is an Indian family name of a Bengali Brahmin

Bengali Brahmins

The Bengali Brahmins are those Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Bangladesh...

 caste; it is a variant of Ganggopadhyay(a) ( Gônggopaddhae). Ganggopadhyay (compound of village name "By the Ganges" and "upādhyāya" denoting "priest, teacher") is the Sanskritized

Sanskritisation

Sanskritization or Sanskritisation is a particular form of social change found in India and Nepal. It denotes the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes. It is a process similar to...

 form of the original name anglicized

Anglicisation

Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...

 to Ganguly. The historical book 'Jāti-Bhāṣkar' mentions that those who were given grants along the Ganges by Ballāl Sena were called Ganggopādhyāya (literally 'the Vedic teachers in the regions around the Ganges').

The ancestors of Gangulys are from a hermit or saint called Savarna Muni, belonging to the family of Bhrigu and thus all Gangulys have the same Savarna Gotra

Gotra

In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...

,and Bhaargava-Vaitahavya-Savedasa tri pravara which means they are from the same ancestral root.

The Gangulys today constitute the forth and lowest group among the Bengali Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 caste, the Shrotreyas. They are considered half-Brahmins by the Kulins Chatterjees, Banerjees and Mukherjees, thus making them inferior among the general Brahminic linage. The inter-marriage links to be setup by or for them range upto the penta-threaded Brahmins, or the Madhyamas.

Names of places derived from Ganguly

• Gangolihaat in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand
• Ganguly Bagan, in South Kolkata, Bengal

Ganguly's

• A K Ganguli, Indian cricketer who played for Assam
• Anil Ganguly, director of Hindi movies
• Anil Ganguly, Non-Executive Independent Director at Kingfisher Airlines
• Arindam Ganguly, actor
• Ashok Kumar Ganguly, actor
• Ashok Sekhar Ganguly
  Ashok Sekhar Ganguly
  Dr. Ashok Shekar Ganguly noted industry expert and former chairman of Hindustan Lever, Ashok S. Ganguly was named one of the recipients of the 2009 Padma Vibhushan awards. Ganguly, a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry, served as Hindustan Lever’s chairman during 1980-90...
  
  , corporate honcho, former Unilever India Chairman
• Ashutosh Ganguly, (1219 (bangla)-1975), founder of Haraganga College, veteran educationist, Industrialist and philanthropist
• Asok Kumar Ganguly, Hon'ble Justice, Supreme Court
• Bipin Behari Ganguli
  Bipin Behari Ganguli
  Bipin Behari Ganguli was a member of Indian independence movement. He was born in Hoogli, now in West Bengal, in 1887.Bipin Behari Ganguli joined the Congress party during the Non-Cooperation Movement and became the secretary of Bengal Congress in 1923....
  
  , reputed Indian freedom fighter
• Bhaskar Ganguly
  Bhaskar Ganguly
  Bhaskar Ganguly is a former Indian football goalkeeper from West Bengal. He was the captain of Indian Soccer team in 1982 Asian games held at New Delhi. He served in Indian team in several International soccer tournaments with great success during his career in the club from 1976–1989 and again...
  
  , Indian footballer
• Buddhadeb Ganguly, Music Director of Bengali movies
• Churni Ganguly, noted actress of the Bengali television
• Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
  Dhirendra Nath Ganguly
  Dhirendra Nath Ganguly , better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G , was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film enterpreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of film production companies: Indo British Film company, British Dominion Films, Lotus Film...
  
  , one of the founders of the Bengal film industry
• Dwarkanath Ganguly
  Dwarkanath Ganguly
  Dwarkanath Ganguly was a Brahmo reformer in Bengal of British India. He contributed substantially towards the enlightenment of society and the emancipation of women.-Early life:...
  
  , Brahmo reformer
• Gitanath Ganguly, renowned lawyer of Kolkata High Court
• Jahar Ganguli, (1904–1969), actor in Bengali movies
• Jeet Ganguly or Chandrajeet Ganguly, music director and composer for Bengali and Hindi movies
• Jibandhan Ganguly, renowned social worker and educationist from Belgharia, founder of Bhairab Ganguly College
• Kalyan Ganguly, President & Managing Director, UB Group
• Kanti Ganguly, Indian politician from Bengal
• Kaushik Ganguly
  Kaushik Ganguly
  Kaushik Ganguly is an Indian director, screenwriter and actor in Bengali cinema. He is known for his works that explore sexuality like Ushnatar Janye which deals with a lesbian relationship and Arekti Premer Golpo that examines transgendered identity.-Life and career:Ganguly was born in Kolkata...
  
  , acclaimed Bengali movie maker
• Kishore Kumar Ganguly, singer and actor
• Kisari Mohan Ganguli
  Kisari Mohan Ganguli
  Kisari Mohan Ganguli was an Indian translator, who is most known for the first complete English translation of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata published as The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose between 1883 to 1896 by Pratap Chandra Roy , a Calcutta bookseller,...
  
  , translator of Indian epic Mahabharata into English (1883–1896)
• Kuheli Gangulee, award winning sportswoman
• Mala Ganguly, classical vocalist
• Mouli Ganguly, actress.
• Narayan Gangopadhyay
  Narayan Gangopadhyay
  Narayan Gangopadhyay ,Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970),Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970),(also known as Narayan Ganguly was a renowned South Asian author. He was born in Dinajpur in undivided Bengal, in what is now Bangladesh. His real name was Taraknath Gangopadhyay.-Life:...
  
   (1918–1970), Bengali writer
• Dr. Nirmal Kumar Ganguly, (born 1941), decorated Indian scientist (retired) after heading the Indian Council for Medical Research
• Noni Ganguly, actor
• Pablo Ganguli
  Pablo Ganguli
  Pablo Ganguli is a cultural entrepreneur and impresario who has created and directed several international festivals of arts, literature, media, film, fashion and culture, through his organisation...
  
  , (born 1983), cultural entrepreneur, creator / director of several international festivals
• Partha Gangopadhyay (born 1963), Economist
• Partha Pratim Ganguly (born 1984), Engineer
• Pratul Chandra Ganguli
  Pratul Chandra Ganguli
  Pratul Chandra Ganguli was a Bengali Indian revolutionary.-Short biography:Pratul hailed from Narayanganj, now in Bangladesh. He was a member of the Anushilan Samiti. Following the arrest of Pulin Behari Das , Pratul and Trailokyanath Chakraborty took charge of the Anushilan Samiti and reorganized...
  
  , (1884–1957), Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary
• Preeti Ganguly
  Preeti Ganguly
  Preeti Ganguly is an Indian actress who played several comic roles in Hindi movies in the 1970s and 1980s. She is the daughter of veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar. She is best known for her comic role as Freni Sethna, the die-hard Amitabh Bachchan fan in Khatta Meetha...
  
  , actress
• Rajesh Ganguly, director of Hindi movies
• Ram Ganguly, music director of Hindi movies
• Richa Gangopadhyay
  Richa Gangopadhyay
  Richa Gangopadhyay is an Indian film actress, model and former beauty queen. After appearing in commercials, she made her film debut in the 2010 Telugu political drama Leader...
  
  , Actress of Telugu movies
• Rita Ganguly, renowned Hindi vocalist
• Rupa Ganguly
  Rupa Ganguly
  Rupa Ganguly or Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress in the Hindi and Bengali language film industry, as well as television She became popular after playing Draupadi in the hit Television series Mahabharat , and in film is most known for her roles in films like Padma Nadir Majhi by Gautam Ghose,...
  
   actress
• Dr. Bhibuti Bhusan Ganguly Doctor - resident of Allahabad.
• Rupali Ganguly
  Rupali Ganguly
  Rupali Ganguly is an Indian television and theatre actress. She became popular after her role as Dr. Simran Chopra in the STAR Plus serial Sanjivani and later Sarabhai VS Sarabhai...
  
   actress
• S. B. Ganguly, industrialist based in Kolkata
• Samir Ganguly
  Samir Ganguly
  Samir Ganguly is a leading and seasoned movie maker having directed chart-busters like Sharmilee, Shagird and other movies like Deewaangi, Koi Jeeta Koi Haara, Khoon Ka Rishta, Anjaane Mein, Pakhandi. Samir Ganguly has also directed many episodes of the famous television serial ‘Paying Guest’...
  
   director of Hindi movies
• Shailen Ganguly, actor in Bengali movies
• Sourav Ganguly
  Sourav Ganguly
  Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
  
   (born 1972), Most Successful Indian captain
• Subhashree Ganguly, actress
• Sumit Ganguly, political scientist, director of research at the Center on American and Global Security at Indiana University, Bloomington
• Sunil Gangopadhyay
  Sunil Gangopadhyay
  Sunil Gangopadhyay , is a celebrated Indian poet and novelist.-Early life:...
  
   (born 1934), Bengali writer
• Sunil Ganguly
  Sunil Ganguly
  Sunil Ganguly was an Indian musician who played the Hawaiian electric guitar. He made a number of records of Indian film music on the HMV label, Sagarika Acoustronics and Concorde Records....
  
   (died 1999), Indian guitarist
• Surya Shekhar Ganguly
  Surya Shekhar Ganguly
  Surya Shekhar Ganguly is an Indian chess Grandmaster and a chess prodigy from Kolkata. He started playing chess at the age of 5 and achieved great successes at National Junior and World Junior Championships since the age of 8. He also set a record of being the youngest player to beat a Grandmaster...
  
  (born 1983), Indian chess grandmaster

Resources

• http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Ganguly-name-meaning.ashx
• http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/ganguly