Kamath

Kamath/Kamat
Family name
Meaning	toponymic; literally "cultivator, cultivation, cultivated land"
Region of origin	India
Language(s) of origin	Sanskrit

Kāmath (many write as "Kamat") is a surname from Goa and particularly in Coastal Karnataka.It is found among Hindus of the Goud Saraswat Brahmin, Saraswat and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin community.

Kāmat is a common surname of Konkani Saraswat Brahmins and of a few Konkani Roman Catholics of Goa, Maharashtra and Canara. "Kāmat" is mostly used in the Konkan area which includes Goa, Maharashtra and around the Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. Kāmath is used by Brahmins around Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and of Karnataka and Hosdurg in Kerala. The word has origin in the sanskrit word of "Kāmati" (i.e. Kaam + Maati) meaning "people who work in soil" or do farming or cultivate land. "Camotim" was used in the erstwhile Portuguese territory of Goa but has given way to "Kāmat" today. "Camat" word is still in use in Indonesia which was a Portuguese colony at some point of time in the history. In Indonesia "Camat" means administrative and political head of the sub-district or taluk. Taluk may be said as kecamatan (spelled as ke-chamatan). The name is also in use among some Konkani Catholics who trace their ancestry to the Goud Saraswat Brahmins of Goa.

There are many GSB and RSB families, original "Kāmats" from Goa who migrated to Karnataka and Maharashtra in the 16th Century during the Portuguese rule and they adopted the place name from Goa where they originally belonged to.

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