Puntambekar

Puntambekar is an Indian surname found amongst the Maharashtrian Deshastha, Rigvedi Brahmin, and Karhade Brahmin communities. Marathi surnames are created by adding the suffix -kar to the town name where the family originally came from; therefore, people originating from the town of Puntamba take the name Puntambekar. One branch of the Rigvedi family settled in Chiplun, a town on the Konkan coast in Maharashtra. The Chiplun group belongs to the Vasishta gotra. The family deity, Kuladaiwat, is the Shree Yamai Devi of Aundh in Satara district of Maharashtra, India. Members of this family moved to what was known as East Africa during the British colonial period nearly a century ago. Today, Puntambekars are found in India, but have also settled in the United Kingdom and the United States.Some Puntamabekar have abbreviated the surname to "Puntamkar". During Peshwas regime more than 200 years ago, Puntambekar from Maharashtra went to the Hindu holy city of Banaras (Varanasi) to perform the religious ceremonies for Peshwas and ultimately settled there.