Nepali Castes and Communities

Also known as Hill Brahmin, Brahman-Hill, Brahman - Hill

Bahun is a broad Nepali community name commonly associated with hill Brahmin traditions. Bahun families live across Nepal and in communities abroad. Nepali is the principal everyday languag…

Also known as Chan classification

Chan appears in the source surname catalog as an intermediate classification attached to a very small number of Gurung or Murung surname records. Available national census material does not…

Also known as Praja, Chepang/Praja

Chepang is an Indigenous nationality of Nepal's central hills. Praja appears as an alternative census and surname-catalog label, though Chepang is the widely used community name. The Chepa…

Also known as Kshetri, Khas Chhetri

Chhetri, also written Kshetri, is one of Nepal's largest community categories. Chhetri families are found across the country and have varied regional, clan and family histories. Nepali is w…

Also known as Dasnami Sanyasi, Sanyasi/Dasnami

Dashnami Sanyasi is a community category with roots in Hindu renunciant traditions. In Nepal, many families developed settled household lineages while retaining names and institutions assoc…

Also known as Tamu

Gurung, or Tamu, is an Indigenous nationality historically concentrated around the southern Annapurna region and adjoining central-western hills. The Gurung label covers families with vari…

Also known as Pahadi Dalit, Hill Dalit communities

Hill Dalit is an umbrella term for distinct communities including Bishwokarma, Pariyar, Mijar and others that have faced caste-based exclusion in Nepal's hill society. “Dalt” in the source…

Also known as Jirel community

Jirel is an Indigenous nationality with historical roots in the Jiri and Dolakha region. The Jirel language and community name are closely associated with this homeland. The Jirel label co…

Also known as Yakthung, Yakthung/Limbu

Limbu, or Yakthung, is an Indigenous nationality of eastern Nepal with its own language, clan traditions and Mundhum-based cultural heritage. The Limbu label covers families with varied lo…

Also known as Tarai Dalit, Terai Dalit

Madhesi Dalit is an umbrella term for several distinct communities of the Tarai that have faced caste-based exclusion and untouchability. It is not one caste, language or family origin. Th…

Also known as Tarai Hindu, Madheshi Hindu

Madhesi Hindu is used here as an umbrella catalog category for numerous Hindu communities of Nepal's Tarai. It is not a single caste, ancestry, language or uniform culture. The source surn…

Also known as Magar community

Magar is one of Nepal's largest Indigenous nationalities and includes communities with distinct regional identities, languages and histories. Magar languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman lan…

Also known as Musalman, Nepali Muslim

Nepal's Muslim population is a religiously connected but linguistically, regionally and socially diverse community. Families have longstanding histories in the Tarai, hill towns, the Kathma…

Also known as Newa, Newah, Newa: (Newar)

Newar, increasingly also written Newa, is the historically rooted community of the Kathmandu Valley. Newar society is internally diverse: families may follow Hindu, Buddhist or blended loca…

Also known as Newar Brahmin, Rajopadhyaya, Deva Brahman

Newar Brahman is a catalog category for Hindu Brahman groups within Newar society, including Rajopadhyaya traditions and some Maithil-origin priestly families historically established in th…

Also known as Newa Buddhist, Newar Vajrayana Buddhist

Newar Buddhist is an umbrella category for Buddhist communities within Newar society. The surname catalog particularly links Shakya, Vajracharya and Uray traditions, which have distinct his…

Also known as Newa Dalit

Newar Dalit is an umbrella catalog category for distinct communities that have experienced untouchability and exclusion within historical Newar caste society. It is important not to collap…

Also known as Chathariya Shrestha, Kshatriya Newar

Newar Kshatriya is a catalog classification used for several Hindu Newar surname and status groups, including lineages often discussed under Chathariya Shrestha traditions. The Newar Kshat…

Also known as Nau, Nay, Newar barber community

Newar Nau is the source catalog label connected with Napit and related barber-service traditions in Newar society. It represents a specific social group rather than the wider Newar communit…

Also known as Uray, Udas, Udhas, Urāy

Uray, also written Udas or Udhas in some sources, is a Newar Buddhist social category historically associated with merchant and artisan communities. It is not one surname or lineage. The N…

Also known as Kirant Rai, Khambu Rai

Rai is a broad identity used by numerous Indigenous communities of eastern Nepal. Bantawa, Chamling, Kulung, Thulung and other groups have distinct languages, clan systems and local histori…

Also known as Rajbansi

Rajbanshi is an Indigenous community of Nepal's eastern Tarai with its own Indo-Aryan language and diverse local social institutions. The Rajbanshi label covers families with varied local …

Also known as Sharwa

Sherpa is an ethnic and community identity, not simply a word for a mountain guide. Sherpa communities have distinct language, clan, Buddhist and regional traditions. The Sherpa label cove…

Also known as Koinch, Kõits, Sunwar

Sunuwar, also known by community names such as Koinch or Kõits, is an Indigenous nationality of eastern and central-eastern Nepal with its own language and ritual traditions. The Sunuwar l…