Find out how popular the last name Agarwal is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Agarwal.

Agarwal, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Agarwal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Agarwal in America

Agarwal is the 6285th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Agarwal surname appeared 5,436 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Agarwal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Agarwal to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Agarwal

The surname Agarwal has its origins in India and can be traced back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'agaru', which means 'a kind of tree' or 'aloewood'. The name Agarwal is believed to have been initially used to denote people who worked with agaru or aloewood, either as traders or artisans.

The Agarwal community is predominantly found in the northern and western regions of India, particularly in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. The name is also prevalent among the Marwari and Baniya communities, which are traditionally involved in trading and business activities.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Agarwal can be found in the 'Ain-i-Akbari', a 16th-century administrative document compiled during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The document mentions the Agarwal community as a prominent trading group in the region.

In the 17th century, the Agarwal community played a significant role in the establishment of the famous Banaras Brocades industry, which involved the production of intricate silk and brocade fabrics. Notable individuals from this period include Shri Lalu Agarwal, a renowned silk weaver and entrepreneur from Varanasi.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Agarwal community expanded their business interests and became influential in various sectors, including banking, textiles, and trade. One prominent figure from this era was Raja Baldev Singh Agarwal (1828-1897), a wealthy banker and philanthropist from Rajasthan.

In more recent times, the Agarwal surname has been associated with several notable personalities. These include Amar Nath Agarwal (1886-1981), a renowned Indian freedom fighter and social reformer; Vinod Agarwal (1939-2004), a prominent industrialist and founder of the Dainik Bhaskar media group; and Arun Agarwal (born 1967), a successful Indian-American business executive and former CEO of Jaipan Industries.

Other notable individuals with the Agarwal surname include Brij Mohan Agarwal (1908-1988), a renowned Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh; Atul Agarwal (born 1956), an accomplished Indian classical singer; and Shiva Agarwal (born 1992), an Indian entrepreneur and co-founder of the mobile application Hike Messenger.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Agarwal

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Agarwal.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Agarwal was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Agarwal has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Agarwal was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Agarwal, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!