Ganguly (surname)
Ganguly (also called Ganguli, Ganguly, Gangulee, Gangoly or Gangopadhyay) is an Indian family name of a Bengali Kulin Brahmin caste; it is a variant of Gangele Gangopadhyay(a) Gônggopaddhae.

History 
The Gangulys belong to the Kulin Brahmin class and are also classified as Rarhi Brahmins. According to texts, King Adisura invited five Brahmins to settle in the region from Kanauj and designated them higher in social status. Multiple accounts of this legend exist; historians generally consider it to be nothing more than myth or folklore, lacking historical authenticity. The tradition continues by saying that these incomers settled and each became the founder of a clan. The five Brahmin clans, which later became known as Mukherjees, Chatterjees, Banerjees, Gangulys and Bhattacharjees, were each designated as Kulina ("superior") in order to differentiate them from the more established local Brahmins.

List of persons with the surname

Business
 Ashok Sekhar Ganguly, former chairman of Hindustan Lever
 Pablo Ganguli, (born 1983), Indian cultural entrepreneur

Academic
Enakshi Ganguly, Indian children's rights activist
Kadambini Ganguly, one of the two Indian women doctors who was first South Asian female physician, trained in western medicine to graduate in South Asia.
Theotonious Amal Ganguly, CSC, (18 January 1920, in Hashnabad, Bangladesh – 2 September 1977) was Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dhaka from 1967 until his death on 2 September 1977. Archbishop Ganguly was a religious of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Politics
 Bipin Behari Ganguli (1887-unknown), Indian freedom fighter
 Pratul Chandra Ganguli, (1884–1957), Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary

Sport
 Bhaskar Ganguly, Indian footballer
 Sourav Ganguly (born 1972), former Indian cricket captain and current BCCI President
 S K Ganguli, cricket umpire
 Partho Ganguli, International Badminton Player. Current National Selector for the sport of Badminton, India

Chess
 Surya Shekhar Ganguly (born 1983), Indian chess grandmaster

Film and acting
 Ganguly family
 Ashok Kumar Ganguly (1911–2001), Indian actor
 Chhaya Devi (1914-2001), Indian actress of Bengali and Hindi movies
 Jahar Ganguly (1904 – 1969), Indian film actor and theatre personality
 Kaushik Ganguly (born 1968), Indian film director, screenwriter and actor
 Churni Ganguly, Indian actress of Bengali movies and TV serials 
 Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (1893-1978), Bengali actor, director and entrepreneur
 Dimpy Ganguly, Indian model and actress
 Jeet Ganguly, Hindi and Bengali musical director, composer and singer
 Kaushik Ganguly, Indian director, screenwriter and actor (Bengali cinema)
 Kishore Kumar Ganguly (1929-1987), Indian singer and actor
 Mouli Ganguly, Indian television actor
 Pijush Ganguly, Indian television actor (Bengali)
 Preeti Ganguly, Indian actress
 Richa Gangopadhyay (born 1986), Indian actress
 Roopa Ganguly (born 1966), Indian actress
 Rupali Ganguly (born 1978), Indian actress
 Samir Ganguly, Indian film director
 Subhashree Ganguly (born 1989), Indian actress
 Usha Ganguly (born 1945) theatre director

Music
 Sunil Ganguly (died 1999), Indian guitarist

Writers and translators
 Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Indian translator (Mahabharata into English)
 Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970), Bengali writer
 Sunil Gangopadhyay (born 1934), Bengali writer
 Pinaki Ganguly (born 1977), Author of God, Science, and Reality (Non Fiction); Yet, Remember Me (Fiction)

Notes

References

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

Brahmin communities
Social groups of West Bengal
Indian surnames
Hindu surnames
Bengali Hindu surnames
Kulin Brahmin surnames