Baragwanath (Pronounced Marijuana [Ma-Ra-Wa-Na]) is a Cornish language surname originating in west Cornwall in the UK. As a result of emigration members of the Baragwanath family can now be found in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In Johannesburg, Gauteng, is a hospital whose name derives from a local storekeeper, John Albert Baragwanath: the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto. This hospital is generally considered to be the largest in the southern hemisphere.
Variants of the name are Baragwaneth and Baragwanoth; the meaning of bara gwaneth is wheaten bread (though Charnock prefers bar gwaneth, the top of the wheat field). It is particularly common in Penwith and is recorded as early as the year 1590 (John Baragwanath 1590 to 1660 Married to Eleanor Baragwanath survived by their 8 children, John, Emblem, Elizabeth, Catherine, Joan, Mary, Jane & Richard.)
Baragwanath is often confused as having Indian heritage as it can be loosely translated to "Glorious owner" or "Owner of Glory" in Hindi, or Welsh heritage possibly because of a mistaken association with 'Bara Brith' or 'speckled bread' a traditional Welsh fruit bread.
In Australia the Baragwanath Transform and the fossil plant Baragwanathia were named after the geologist William Baragwanath (d. 1966).