Explore the Family Name Bhardwaj

The meaning of Bhardwaj

Indian (northern states): Brahmin name, from Sanskrit bhāradvāja ‘descendant of bharadvāja’, which means ‘one whose bearing shows strength or vigor’ (a compound of bharat ‘bearing’ + vāja ‘vigor’). Bharadvāja was the name of one of the great sages of ancient India, mentioned in the Mahabharata. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Ramesh, Sushma, Anil, Harish, Prem, Rakesh, Sunil, Usha, Vijay, Vinod, Ajay, Anish.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Bhardwaj in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Bhardwaj increased significantly from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 27,258th most common, with an estimated 834 individuals carrying the name. By 2010, the rank rose to 17,734th with approximately 1,580 individuals identified as Bhardwajs, indicating a remarkable change of 34.94 percent in its ranking and an 89.45 percent increase in count. The data shows that the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 also escalated by 74.19 percent.

20002010Change
Rank#27,258#17,73434.94%
Count8341,58089.45%
Proportion per 100k0.310.5474.19%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bhardwaj

As for ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the majority of individuals with the Bhardwaj surname identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, amounting to 92.85 percent in 2010, up from 88.37 percent in 2000. There was a significant decrease in those identifying as two or more races, dropping by 69.75 percent. The proportion of Bhardwajs identifying as White also declined from 3.12 percent in 2000 to 2.47 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying as Hispanic became negligible. It's noteworthy though that the percentage of the American Indian and Alaskan Native group within the Bhardwaj surname bearers experienced a substantial rise of 93.06 percent between 2000 and 2010.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander88.37%92.85%5.07%
White3.12%2.47%-20.83%
Two or More Races6.71%2.03%-69.75%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.72%1.39%93.06%
Hispanic1.08%0%0%
Black0%0%0%