Padwa last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Padwa

A surname of Indian origin meaning 'from the village of Padwa'.

Padwa, 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 Padwa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Padwa in America

Padwa is the 152628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Padwa surname appeared 107 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 Padwa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Padwa 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank1526281504361.45%
Count1071006.76%
Proportion per 100k0.040.040.00%

The history of the last name Padwa

The surname PADWA is believed to have originated in India. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "Padma," which means "lotus flower." This suggests that the name may have been associated with those who lived near or worked with lotus flowers, which are considered sacred in Hindu culture.

The earliest known records of the PADWA surname date back to the 16th century in the region of Gujarat, located in western India. During this time, the name was often spelled as "Padva" or "Padwah." It is possible that the name was originally a place name, referring to a village or town where lotus flowers were abundant.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the PADWA surname was Ratan Padwa, a merchant who lived in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in the late 16th century. He was involved in the textile trade and is mentioned in several historical records from that period.

In the 17th century, the PADWA name appears in various records from the Mughal Empire, which ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent at the time. One notable figure was Khushhal Padwa, a poet and scholar who lived in the city of Delhi during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan.

As the British East India Company established its presence in India in the 18th and 19th centuries, the PADWA surname became more widely known. Govind Padwa, a wealthy landowner from Gujarat, was a prominent figure in the early 19th century and is mentioned in several British colonial records.

In more recent times, the PADWA surname has been associated with several notable individuals. For example, Kiran Padwa (1932-2018) was an Indian cricketer who played for the Saurashtra cricket team in the 1950s and 1960s. Anil Padwa (born 1937) is a renowned organic chemist and professor at Emory University in the United States.

Overall, the surname PADWA has a rich history that can be traced back to ancient India. Its connection to the lotus flower and its presence in various historical records across different regions and time periods make it a fascinating name to explore.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Padwa

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

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 Padwa was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only96.26%103
Non-Hispanic Black Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races0.00%0
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

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 Padwa has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White96.26%99.00%-2.81%
Black0.00%0.00%0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races0.00%0.00%0.00%
Hispanic(S)%(S)%(S)%

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

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.

Search
Search
Background shape