Some sources suggest that the village was named after the Portuguese factor and traveller Duarte Barbosa, though this seems unlikely as he never actually resided in the area.

People left Barbodhan in the early 19th century to settle in Burma, where they established many businesses and were great entrepreneurs; a number of them even became advisors to the Burmese rulers.

Then from in the 1840s many other emigrants from Barbodhan went to the island of Mauritius, where they were later responsible for introducing hydroelectric power, as well as being involved in other trading and business concerns.

[2] Barbodhians have set up many Waqfs or Religious Foundations to help poor, needy, disadvantaged and unfortunate members of society, particularly in Burma and Mauritius.

Some common surnames attributed to the village are (Atcha/Atchia/ATTCHA), ADIYA/Adia, NALLA, MULLA, KALLA (KALA), NANA, Ghanchi, PATEL,/Esa/ISA, Rawat, RAJA, JEEWA//JIVA), JINA, Makda, ABU, and ... live other villagers LIMALIYA (KAWAS), Attan (KOSAD), AHEMEDJI), NANI NAROLI, sushiwala (surat) gangat, Shah, Shaikh, Gulzar, Rajjab etc.. A number of Hindu families have settled in the UK particularly in Preston from Kenya Rama Newsprint and Papers Ltd have a large mill complex in Barbodhan, covering over 450 acres (1.8 km2).