
Ambat is one of the respected Nair/Menon familes of the Chittur Taluk of the earstwhile princely state of Cochin, later to be part of Palghat District of Kerala. Ambat family was originally based in Ayilur village, from where it migrated thirty five kilometers eastward to Chittur about 450 years ago.
The name Ambat is supposed to have been derived from the words "Ambaya Attom" , meaning the place where the Amba alias Amma(Lakshmi) plays, the place where the Amba's (Lakshmi's) presence is always felt. In fact the tharavad house was first known as Ambat Bhavanam.. Ambat family possessed extensive landed property in Ayilur Village; where their paddy alone yielded 1000 paras of grain every year.