The surname "Sheikh" is prevalent in the Bengali Muslim community.
It is from the Arabic word "Sheikh" (Arabic: شيخ shaykh [ʃajx]), meaning elder, this word is also applied to those who are in a position of respect such as a leader, especially a religious leader or preacher.
After the advent of Islam into the subcontinent, then eventually into Bengal, many Sufi Islamic missionaries known as Dervishes to the native people came from places in Western Asia such as Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan had come to spread Islam in Bengal.
Wealthy Arab businessmen who were known as Sheikhs in the Middle East as a respect for their wealth and tribal lineage had also come to conduct business at Bengal at port cities such as Chittagong, these Arabs had also done business in South India and Indonesia, they had also played a role in promoting Islam in Bengal.
[4] All these respectable migrants from the Middle East were known as Sheikhs, and this status was inherited by their descendants.