Bhat meaning a priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 or scribe in Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

, is a surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 common in most parts of Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. A predominantly Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 last name, it is found most commonly in the states of coastal areas of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

, Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

, Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh, is a common surname in the states of Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. This is a common surname among Kota Brahmin, Konkanastha, Malviya Brahmin Shree Goud Brahmin Goud Saraswat Brahmin, Shivalli Madhva Brahmin, Havyaka Brahmin

Havyaka Brahmin

Havyaka Brahmins are a Hindu Pancha Dravida Brahmin subsect primarily from the Indian state of Karnataka and Northern Kerala. Havyakas profess the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankaracharya.-Etymology:...

 and Daivajna community. Variations of the Bhat surname are found amongst Brahmins of Kerala and Tamil Nadu such as Pattar amongst Tamil

Iyer

Iyer is the title given to the caste of Hindu Brahmin communities of Tamil origin. Most Iyers are followers of the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara...

 and Kerala Iyers and Bhattathiripad amongst the Nambudiris.
The name is also in use among some Konkani Catholics who trace their ancestry to the Goud Saraswat Brahmins of Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

.

Bard communities of North India

The term Bhat also refers to a community of bards and genealogists, found in North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

.

Geographical distribution

Jammu & Kashmir: Bhat is a common surname of Saraswat Brahmin

Saraswat Brahmin

The Saraswats are a Brahmin caste of India.- History :According to the legend, Saraswat Brahmins are Brahmins who lived on the banks of the former Saraswati River that once flowed in northern India. Although it is said that at Prayag the three rivers meet or met.the fact is that the Saraswati never...

 or Muslims.

Gujarat: can be either Saraswat Brahmin

Saraswat Brahmin

The Saraswats are a Brahmin caste of India.- History :According to the legend, Saraswat Brahmins are Brahmins who lived on the banks of the former Saraswati River that once flowed in northern India. Although it is said that at Prayag the three rivers meet or met.the fact is that the Saraswati never...

 or Muslims.

Rajasthan: They are Brahmin

Brahmin

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

s with Gotras Vatsa, Bhardwaj, Bhargav, Kashyapa, Parasar

Karnataka: Common surname among Shivalli Brahmins, Havyaka Brahmin

Havyaka Brahmin

Havyaka Brahmins are a Hindu Pancha Dravida Brahmin subsect primarily from the Indian state of Karnataka and Northern Kerala. Havyakas profess the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankaracharya.-Etymology:...

s, Kota Brahmins

Kota brahmin

Kota Brahmins hail from the Kundapur and surrounding areas of Udupi district in Karnataka, Bantwal and Puttur Taluk in Mangalore District and Kasargod District in Kerala...

 and Goud Saraswat Brahmins of coastal Karnataka

Kanara

The Kanara or Canara region comprises three coastal districts of Karnataka, namely Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada and Kasaragod district of Kerala in southwestern India. Kanara forms the southern part of the Konkan coast...

Famous persons

It may refer to:

• Balaji Vishwanath
  Balaji Vishwanath
  Balaji Vishwanath Bhat , better known as Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Brahmin family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century...
  
   Bhat. Peshwa
  Peshwa
  A Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army...
  
   and founder of the Peshwa Dynasty.
• B. R. Bhat
  B. R. Bhat
  Beliyar Ramdas Bhat was a professor and head of the department of statistics at Karnataka University, Dharwad for more than two decades. He was elected member of International Statistical Institute, and Fellow of Royal Statistical Society....
  
  
• K. Raghupati Bhat
  K. Raghupati Bhat
  K. Raghupati Bhat is a member of the legislative assembly of Karnataka state. He was elected from Udupi constituency in the election held in 2004. The Udupi constituency number is 146. After delimitation exercise carried out in the year 2008 by Election commission of India, The Udupi assembly...
  
  
• P. Gururaja Bhat
  P. Gururaja Bhat
  Dr. Paduru Gururaja Bhat was a teacher and pioneering historian and archaeologist of Tulu Nadu, and of Barkur, the ancient capital of the Tulu kingdom...
  
  
• Bhatji Shri Nanhe Kakka
• Pt. Ramakant Malviya, Bhat ji Maharaj of Lalitpur
• P. N. Mari Bhat
  P. N. Mari Bhat
  P. N. Mari Bhat , distinguished Indian demographer, was a student of Samuel H. Preston at the University of Pennsylvania from where he received his Ph.D. in 1987. At the time of his death he was the director of the International Institute of Population Science in Mumbai, which he formerly attended...
  
  
• Pandit Krishna Bhat, Kerekai
  Pandit Krishna Bhat, Kerekai
  Vidhwan Krishna Bhat, Kerekai, was a noted Tala-Maddale artist from Sirsi, Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka state, India....
  
  
• Rishi Bhat
  Rishi Bhat
  Rishi Bhat is a former child actor and internet entrepreneur. He co-starred alongside Hal Scardino and Litefoot in the 1995 film The Indian in the Cupboard, for which he received a Young Artist Award nomination...
  
  
• Rohith Bhat
  Rohith Bhat
  Rohith Bhat is the founder and CEO of Robosoft Technologies, a software development company in Udupi, Karnataka, India.Mr. Bhat is a Bachelors degree holder in Computer Science from Mangalore University....
  
  
• U. Narayan Bhat
  U. Narayan Bhat
  U. Narayan Bhat is an Indian born Mathematician, known for his contributions to queueing theory and reliability theory.-Academic career:...
  
  
• U. R. Bhat
  U. R. Bhat
  Ullal Ravindra "U. R." Bhat is a noted economic columnist of India. He had his education in IIT Kanpur. He joined Indian Bank and quit to start a career in financial investments. He worked in Jardine Fleming India as head of the country operations. He is a regular at NDTV Profit Television channel....
  
  
• Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak
  Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak
  Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak was a professor of combinatorics and head of the department of mathematics, University of Mumbai. Vasanti Nayak was known for her work in BIBD designs, bivariegated graphs, graceful graphs, graph equations and frequency partitions.Vasanti Bhat a Goud Saraswat Brahmin was...
  
  
• Yograj Bhat
  Yograj Bhat
  Yograj Bhat is a prominent Kannada film director, producer, screenwriter and a lyricist. He is most predominantly known for the 2006 film Mungaru Male, which he co-wrote with Preetam Gubbi. He was also the director of the film and was one of the lyricists in the film...
  
  
• Sheni Gopalakrishna Bhat Yakshagana/Talamaddale artist
• Vishweshwara Bhat
• A.K. Bhat
• Prasanna Bhat