Mitra (Bengali: মিত্র), also called Mittra or Mitro is a Bengali Hindu surname found mostly amongst Bengali Kayastha community in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent. This surname also has prevalence in Iran and is a popular Persian last name found in America.^[1] The surname may have been derived either from the Sanskrit word mitra meaning friend or ally^[2] or from the name of an important Indo-Iranian deity in the Vedas and in ancient Iran.^[3]

Mitras belong to Kayastha caste in Bengal. Bengali Kayasthas evolved as a caste from a category of officials or scribes, between the 5th/6th century CE and 11th/12th century CE, its component elements being putative Kshatriyas and mostly Brahmins.^[4] Mitras are considered as Kulin Kayasthas of Vishvamitra gotra, along with Bose, Guha and Ghosh.^[5]

Notables

• Aditi Mitra is an Indian-American theoretical condensed matter physicist known for her research on molecular scale electronics and non-equilibrium quantum systems.
• Amit Mitra (অমিত মিত্র), politician and current Finance Minister of West Bengal
• Ashok Mitra finance minister of west bengal
• Asoke Chandra Mitra is an Indian politician and member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• Asoke Nath Mitra known for his work in nuclear physics, particle physics and quantum field theory and in particular, for his fundamental contributions in obtaining the exact solution of the nucleon 3- body problem
• Abhik Mitra, Indian cricketer
• Ashesh Prasad Mitra was a physicist who headed the National Physics Laboratory in Delhi, India and was the Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
• Amit Mitra, Indian politician
• Amitabh Mitra, Poet / Artist, South Africa
• Antara Mitra, Indian singer
• Arun Mitra (অরুণ মিত্র) (1909–2000), Bengali poet
• Ayushman Mitra is an Indian fashion designer, painter, and actor from Kolkata.
• Bhupendra Nath Mitra KCSI KCIE CBE (Bengali: ভূপেন্দ্র নাথ মিত্র) (October 1875 – 25 February 1937)[1] was an Indian government official and diplomat who served as the third Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1936.
• Bimal Mitra (1912–1991), Bengali author
• Biren Mitra was an Indian politician, a leader of the Indian National Congress and the Chief Minister of Odisha
• Chandan Mitra (born 1955), Indian journalist, editor/managing director of The Pioneer newspaper
• Chittaranjan Mitra (1926–2008), Indian scientist and director of BITS Pilani
• Debasis Mitra (born 1944), Indian mathematician
• Debala Mitra was an Indian archaeologist who served as Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
• Debu Mitra, Indian cricketer
• Digambar Mitra (1817–1879), Derozian and Bengali Sheriff of Kolkata
• Dinabandhu Mitra (দীনবন্ধু মিত্র) (1830–1873), Bengali dramatist (given name: Gandharva Narayan)
• Falguni Mitra Pandit Falguni Mitra is a Hindustani classical vocalist who is known as a Dhrupad exponent of India.
• Gautam MitraComputer Scientist
• Hiran Mitra (born 1945), Bengali actor
• Ila Mitra was a communist and peasants movement organizer of the Indian subcontinent, especially in East Bengal (now Bangladesh).
• Indraneel Mittra (born 1943), Indian cancer researcher
• Kamal Mitra (1912–1993), Bengali actor
• Kalikrishna Mitra (1822 – 2 August 1891) was a Bengali philanthropist, educator and writer. He established the first non-government girls’ school in India.
• Krishna Kumar Mitra Krishna Kumar Mitra (1852–1936) was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist and leader of the Brahmo Samaj
• Koena Mitra (born 1981), Indian actress and former model
• Lopamudra Mitra, Kolkata-based Bengali singer-songwriter
• Mithra (actor) is an Kannada comedian and actor
• Nabagopal Mitra (1840–1894), Indian playwright, poet, essayist, patriot
• Narendranath Mitra (নরেন্দ্রনাথ মিত্র) (1916–1975), Bengali writer, poet
• Panchanan Mitra (1892–1936), professor of anthropology in India
• Partha Mitra is an Indian-American neuroscientist and computer scientist.
• Panchanan Mitra was the professor of anthropology in India
• Peary Chand Mitra Indian writer, journalist, cultural activist and entrepreneur.
• Premendra Mitra (প্রেমেন্দ্র মিত্র) (1904–1988), Bengali poet and author
• Pramathanath Mitra known widely as P. Mitra, was a Bengali Indian barrister and Indian nationalist who was among the earliest founding members of the Indian revolutionary organization, Anushilan Samiti.
• Prabir Mitra (প্রবীর মিত্র) (born 1941), Bangladeshi movie and TV actor
• Nilmani Mitra was an Indian civil engineer and architect, who designed the famous mansions of 19th century Kolkata.
• Mahan Mitra Mahan Mj (born Mahan Mitra (Bengali: মহান মিত্র), 5 April 1968[1]), also known as Mahan Maharaj and Swami Vidyanathananda, is an Indian mathematician and monk of the Ramakrishna Order.
• Pramathanath Mitra was a Bengali Indian barrister and Indian nationalist who was among the earliest founding members of the Indian revolutionary organisation, Anushilan Samiti.
• Kishori Chand Mitra was a writer, civil servant and social worker
• Rajendralal Mitra (1823/24-1891), the first modern Indologist of Indian origin
• Ramon Mitra, Jr., Filipino statesman, diplomat, and a renowned pro-democracy activist
• Rana Mitter OBE FBA (born 1969), known as Rana Mitter, is a British historian and political scientist of Indian origin who specialises in the history of republican China.
• Raul Mitra, Filipino composer, arranger, songwriter, musical director, pianist, and keyboardist
• Rhona Mitra ,(born 1976), English actress of Indian descent
• Rina Mitra Chief Commissioner of the West Bengal Right to Public Service Commission.
• Saby Mitra Sabyasachi “Saby” Mitra is an Indian-American academic administrator and professor currently serving as the Dean of the University of Florida Warrington College of Business.
• Sanjay Mitra He served as Defense Secretary of India
• Sankar Prasad Mitra was a Bengali politician and former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
• Sanjoy K. Mitter is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT who is a noted control theorist
• Samik Mitra is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Chennaiyin
• Samarendra Kumar Mitra, Bengali scientist and mathematician who created India's first computer
• Samaresh Mitra Samaresh Mitra (born 1937) is an Indian bioinorganic chemist and an INSA Senior Scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB).
• Shyam Mitra, Indian cricket
• Shaoli Mitra an Indian Bengali theatre and film actress, director, and playwright. padma shri awardee
• Shyamal Mitra (1929–1987), Bengali singer
• Sisir Kumar Mitra (শিশির কুমার মিত্র) (1890–1963), Indian physicist
• Shrish Chandra Mitra was a Bengali revolutionary and active member of Indian independence movement
• Sombhu Mitra (1915–1997), Indian film and stage actor, director, playwright
• Subodh Mitra M.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.O.G. (1896-1961) was an eminent obstretrician
• Sreelekha Mitra (শ্রীলেখা মিত্র) (born 1975), Indian actress of TV and films
• Subrata Mitra (সুব্রত মিত্র) (1930–2001), Indian cinematographer
• Sugata Mitra is an Indian computer scientist and educational theorist. He is best known for his "Hole in the Wall" experiment, and widely cited in works on literacy and education.
• Subrata K. Mitra was director and research professor at the Institute for South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore
• Subhrajit Mitra, (born 1976), Indian film maker
• Subhasish Mitra from Stanford University was named Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2013[1] for contributions to design and test of robust integrated circuits.
• Suchitra Mitra (1924–2011), Indian singer-composer
• Sumita Mitra developed the nanomaterials used in state-of-the-art 3M dental composites, which have been used in billions of procedures around the world.
• Sushanta Mitra is an Indian-Canadian mechanical engineer
• Sushmita Mitra is an Indian computer scientist and is currently the head and INAE Chair Professor at the Machine Intelligence Unit at Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
• Sugata Mitra is an Indian computer scientist and educational theorist.
• Swasti Mitter was a researcher into gender and development. She held posts as Professor of Gender and Technology at the University of Brighton.
• Shibu Mitra is an Indian film director and producer
• Parno Mittra is an Indian actress who appears in Bengali films.
• Tripti Mitra was a popular Indian actress of Bengali theatre and films
• Tapan Mitra Tapan Mitra (18 July 1948 – 3 February 2019) was an Indian-born economist.

Fictional characters

• Pradosh Chandra Mitter (Feluda), a fictional private investigator created by Satyajit Ray
• Tapesh Ranjan Mitter (Topse), cousin of Feluda, created by Satyajit Ray