Family name origins & meanings
- Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi : Hindu (Brahman) name, of which the Sanskrit version, Mukhyopadhyaya, is ostensibly composed of mukhya ‘principal’, ‘chief’ + upadhyaya ‘teacher’. However, in fact the first element relates to a Bengali place name, probably Mukhati. The Sanskrit version, with its rather grander meaning, is a later coinage based on this name, which actually means ‘teacher from a place called Mukhati (or similar)’. Compare Chatterjee.