2000
#27,771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 815
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Rare Last name
Panchal
A regional surname indicating origins from the Panchal region of Gujarat, India.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,561 Americans carry the last name Panchal. That puts it at #9,927 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Panchal surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Panchal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 96,252
Census rank
#9,927
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,105 bearers of the surname Panchal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9927th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Panchal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Panchal
The surname Panchal is of Indian origin, deriving from the Sanskrit word "Pancha" meaning five, and "Ala" meaning province or territory. This suggests that the name originates from the region known as the Panchalas, which comprised five territories in ancient India. The Panchalas were an influential confederation of tribes mentioned in several ancient Indian texts, including the epic Mahabharata, where they played a pivotal role.
The Panchal region is believed to have encompassed parts of modern-day Uttar Pradesh and Haryana states in North India. The name is thought to have originated around the 6th century BCE, during the later Vedic period in Indian history. Early references to the name can be found in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu scriptures, and the Puranas, ancient Indian literature detailing the histories of dynasties and kingdoms.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Panchal was Draupadi, the wife of the five Pandava princes in the Mahabharata epic, which is dated to around the 8th or 9th century BCE. Another notable figure was King Drupada, the ruler of the Panchalas, who was Draupadi's father and a key character in the epic.
In the 16th century, the Panchal Rajputs were a prominent ruling clan in the region of present-day Uttar Pradesh. They claimed descent from the ancient Panchalas and ruled over several princely states, such as Bhadawar and Dataganj. One renowned member of this clan was Raja Bir Bhadra Panchal, who lived in the late 16th century and was a valiant warrior and ruler.
During the Mughal era in India, from the 16th to the 19th century, several individuals with the surname Panchal held influential positions in the imperial court and administration. One notable example is Panchal Beg, a high-ranking official under the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century.
In more recent times, Ramesh Chandra Panchal (1925-2003) was a renowned Indian physician and medical educator who served as the director of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He was instrumental in shaping medical education and healthcare policies in India.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Panchal
Among Census respondents with the surname Panchal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Panchal bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Panchal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.3% · 2,897
- White2.9% · 89
- Two or more races1.9% · 59
- Black or African American0.8% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Panchal
Panchal appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#16,315
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,766
+951 bearers (+116.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 11,456 places
2020
#9,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,105
+1,339 bearers (+75.8%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Up 6,388 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,771 | 815 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,315 | 1,766 | 0.60 | +951 bearers (+116.7%) | Up 11,456 places |
| 2020 | #9,927 | 3,105 | 1.04 | +1,339 bearers (+75.8%) | Up 6,388 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Panchal surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #16,315 | #9,927 | 39.2% |
| Count | 1,766 | 3,105 | 75.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 1.04 | 73.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Panchal bearers went from 1,766 to 3,105 (+75.8% change). The surname moved up 6,388 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,315 to #9,927.
FAQ
Panchal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Panchal?
Name Census estimates that about 3,561 living Americans carry the surname Panchal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,252 residents.
How common is Panchal?
Panchal ranks #9,927 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,105 people with the surname Panchal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,561), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Panchal.
Has Panchal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Panchal went from 1,766 recorded bearers to 3,105. That is an increase of 1,339 (+75.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,315 to #9,927.
What does the Census say about the background of Panchal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Panchal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Panchal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,897 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Panchal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (93.3%), White (2.9%), Two or More Races (1.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Panchal (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Panchal mean?
A regional surname indicating origins from the Panchal region of Gujarat, India. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Panchal (1.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Panchal?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Panchal is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.