Barnwal (also written as Baranwal or Barnawal in English), pronounced as ba-rn-wal; is the surname or the last name of one of the high-ranking business classes in India.

Barnwals were one of the most prominent trading communities of medieval North India. This community lost most of its glory during the continuous Islamic attacks on the Hindu India during 1100AD.

Barnwal community was started by Raja Ahibarn, whose ancestors had moved to a town called Ahar in North India. Ahar is the place where the famous ‘Khandan Van’ of Mahabharata period is located. Some 400 years after Mahabharata, King Ahibarn renamed the Ahar kingdom on his own name as Barn-sahar.

Barn-sahar is today’s Bulendsahar of Western UP now part of Delhi NCR.

King Ahibarn was a Kshatriya and a Suryavanshi (lineage of the Sun). He was the 21st descendant of Samrath (Emperor) Mandhrata. As per Vrat Katha, it is under Emperor Mandhrata lineage that at one stage son of King Mohandas, Agrasen was born & at another stage son of King Parmal, Ahibarn was born; both of whom further started

During 1192AD when Mohammad Gori attacked India, his Senapati (Military commander) Qutubbudin surrounded Fort Barn and with the help of traitors was able to kill King Chandrasen Dor & in the process take control of the Barn kingdom. He ordered the inhabitant of Barn-sahar to either adopt Islam or die. Most of the people were brutally killed and their head hanged on the fort minars.

After the fall of Barn-sahar the community lost the leadership and direction & in the process scattered to different parts of India, mostly to the Gangetic plains of India and started living under the various family names of Lala, Modi, Goyal, Bakshi, Hakim, Choudhary, Patwari, Bajaj, Parsariya, Simriya, Nagar.

At present the Barnwal population is around half a million. They are mostly spread in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal along with a sprinkled presence in Rajasthan, MP & Maharastra.

Some from the community who accepted Islam, their descendant are known as Barni Muslims.

Barnwals (Baranwal) have also been marrying into other merchant communities like Agrawal & Jain families.