[2] The change from Bargod to Bargoed is recorded from the sixteenth century onwards and was probably a hypercorrection under the influence of coed "trees, woods", perhaps reinforced by nearby place names such as Pen-y-coed, Argoed and Blackwood (Welsh: y Coed-duon).

[5] By 1921 Bargoed had a population of 17,901; this has been steadily declining since that time, as the general demand for Welsh coal continued to fall.

This was a project by Austin chairman Leonard Lord, with government funding, to employ miners suffering from pneumoconiosis, a lung disease caused by prolonged inhalation of dust.

In 1945 it was estimated that 5000 miners in the South Wales region were affected by the condition to the extent that they could not work in the coal industry.

The end of production of the Austin A-Series engine in 1999, the rocker cover of which was made solely in Bargoed, meant that the factory (then under the ownership of the Rover Group) employing 45 people, of which only 11 were registered as disabled, closed.

There are ongoing issues with plans for a state of the art Odeon Cinema and the site remains undeveloped (summer 2015).

The sites of the former collieries of Bargoed, Gilfach, and Britannia have been landscaped as a recreational nature park with a network of paths on either side of the Rhymney river.

The town is served by Bargoed railway station with services to Cardiff, Penarth, and Barry; Bargoed Bus Interchange is situated at the northern end of the town, with local services and routes to nearby Blackwood, Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, and Newport among others.