Chowdhury Family History

Indian (West Bengal) and Bangladeshi: status name for the head of a community or caste based on Sanskrit čatus- ‘four-way all-round’ + dhurīya (from Sanskrit dhura ‘burden’) i.e. ‘undertaking a burden of all-round responsibility’. The title was originally awarded by the Mughal emperors to persons of eminence regardless of their religious affiliation.

There is a Khatri clan called Chowdhury. In some traditions the term is believed to derive from a title for a military commander controlling four different fighting forces namely navy, cavalry, infantry, and elephant corps but this is probably no more than folk etymology.