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

Gaonkar, 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 Gaonkar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaonkar in America

Gaonkar is the 158432nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaonkar surname appeared 102 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gaonkar.

The history of the last name Gaonkar

The surname Gaonkar originated in the Indian state of Goa during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Konkani word "gaon" meaning village, suggesting that the name may have been initially used to identify individuals from a particular village or area.

Records indicate that the Gaonkar surname was prevalent among the Gaudde Brahmin community of Goa, who were landowners and agriculturists. The name is also found in parts of the neighboring state of Karnataka, where Konkani-speaking communities have settled.

One of the earliest historical references to the Gaonkar name can be found in the "Kadamba Inscriptions" from the 12th century, which mention individuals with this surname holding administrative positions in the Kadamba Kingdom of Goa.

In the 16th century, during the Portuguese colonial rule in Goa, several Gaonkar families are recorded in the "Tombo das Comunidades" (Records of Communities), a document that lists landholdings and taxation details of various communities in the region.

Notable individuals with the Gaonkar surname throughout history include:

1. Purushottam Gaonkar (1891-1977), a prominent freedom fighter and social reformer from Goa, who played a key role in the struggle for Goa's independence from Portuguese rule.

2. Vinayak Narayan Gaonkar (1892-1947), a renowned Konkani writer and poet, known for his contributions to the development of Konkani literature.

3. Anant Ramchandra Gaonkar (1878-1955), a respected educationist and founder of the Goa Vidyaprasarak Mandal, an organization dedicated to promoting education in Goa.

4. Mohan Raghunath Gaonkar (1920-1994), a distinguished Konkani writer and journalist, who served as the editor of the acclaimed Konkani magazine "Gomantak".

5. Vinda Gaonkar, a notable Konkani folk artist from the 18th century, whose work is preserved in the collection of the Goa State Museum.

The Gaonkar surname has also been associated with various villages and towns in Goa, such as Gaonkarwada, Gaonkarvaddo, and Gaonkarwadi, which likely originated from the presence of families bearing this surname in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaonkar

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

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 Gaonkar 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.

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 Gaonkar was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gaonkar, 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!