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

Mahal, 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 Mahal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mahal in America

Mahal is the 30538th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mahal surname appeared 764 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 Mahal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mahal 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 Mahal

The surname MAHAL originates from India, specifically from the northern regions of the subcontinent. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "mahal," which means "palace" or "grand residence."

In ancient India, the term "mahal" was often associated with royal residences and the households of influential nobility or wealthy merchants. It is possible that the surname MAHAL was initially adopted by individuals who worked or resided within such grand establishments, or by those who were closely associated with the ruling elites or affluent families.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MAHAL can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This administrative manual mentions several individuals bearing the surname MAHAL, suggesting its use during the Mughal era.

Notably, the renowned Mughal empress Nur Jahan, who ruled as the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir from 1611 to 1627, was born with the name Mehrunnisa and later given the title "Nur Mahal" (Light of the Palace) upon her marriage. This association with royalty further solidifies the connection between the surname MAHAL and its historical ties to prominent households and palaces.

In the 18th century, the MAHAL surname appeared in various records from the northern Indian regions, particularly in present-day Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. One notable figure from this period was Mirza Rafi' Sauda (1713-1781), a renowned Urdu poet who hailed from Delhi and was associated with the court of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.

Another prominent individual bearing the MAHAL surname was Raja Hamir Mahal (1786-1854), a ruler of the princely state of Karauli in Rajasthan. His descendants continued to carry the MAHAL surname, and some of them played significant roles in the political and cultural spheres of the region.

During the 19th century, the MAHAL surname gained recognition beyond the Indian subcontinent. One example is Bibi Hajer Mahal (1805-1879), who was a Turkic-Indian woman and the second wife of the Nizam of Hyderabad, a prominent Muslim ruler in the Deccan region.

As the MAHAL surname spread across different regions of India, it also evolved into various spellings and variations, such as Mahal, Mahaal, and Mahall, reflecting local linguistic influences and regional dialects.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mahal

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

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

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

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