Hatwal is a Garhwali Brahmin family name from the northern Indian state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

. The Hatwals were primarily a priestly class who served as pandits at the many Hindu temples in the Himalayan Kingdom of Garhwal

Garhwal Kingdom

Garhwal Kingdom was a princely state in north-western Uttarakhand, India, ruled by the Panwar dynasty. It was founded in 888 AD and existed until it was annexed by the Gorkhas in 1803...

, including Badrinath which is part of the auspicious Hindu pilgrimage circuit of Char Dham

Char Dham

The Chota Char Dham , is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in the Indian Himalayas...

.

The Hatwals are descended from Rishi Bharadwaja

Bharadwaja

Bharadwaja was one of the greatest Hindu Arya sages descendant of rishi Angirasa, whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. He was one of the Saptarshis in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kashyapa.Bhardwaj Rishi was father of...

 and belong to the Bharadwaj Gotra.

Etymology and use

The origin of the surname Hatwal is from Hat wale (a person from a village called Hat). Most of the inhabitants of Hat, now in Garhwal

Garhwal Division

Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...

, Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

 were called Hatwals.

Origin

The Hatwals are Sarola Brahmins

Sarola brahmin

Sarola brahmin is the highest Garhwali Brahmin subcaste from Uttarakhand, India. Sarola Brahmins were the earliest authenticated Brahmin casts in the then small Garhwal Kingdom of 1200 years ago. The capital of this kingdom was Chandpur Garhi and 12 casts of Brahmins were settled in 12 villages...

from Garhwal who first migrated to the hills of present day Uttarakhand from the plains of north-western India around the 13th century.