Bahun is a colloquial Nepali

Nepali language

Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...

 term for a member of the Pahari

Pahari people

The Pahari people, ; also called Pahadi, Parbati, Khāsā, or Chhetri, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group of the Himalaya living in Nepal, India, and Pakistan. In Nepal, the Pahari constituted the single largest ethnic group at about 20,000,000, or three-fifths of the Nepalese population through the 1990s...

 or "hill" Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

caste, who are traditionally educators, scholars and priests of Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

. They are also known as Barmu in Newari. By tradition—and by civil law until 1962—they represented the highest of the four Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 varna or castes. Bahuns from the "hills" have been represented disproportionately in Nepal's education system, political parties and civil service since the country was unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah

Prithvi Narayan Shah

Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Nepal was the first king of the House of Shahs to rule Nepal. He is credited for starting the campaign for a unified Nepal, which had been divided and weakened under Malla confederacy. He was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah , the founder of the ruling...

 and his heirs in the 18th century. The top leaders of the all the major three parties: Maoist opposition (Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai

Baburam Bhattarai

Dr. Baburam Bhattarai is a Nepalese politician who became the 35th Prime Minister of Nepal in August 2011. He is a senior Standing Committee Member and vice chairperson of Unified Communist Party of Nepal . His party started a revolutionary People's War in Nepal in 1996 that ultimately led to the...

), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)

The Communist Party of Nepal , also known as CPN-UML, CPN, is one of the largest communist parties in Nepal. It was created on January 6, 1991 through the unification of the Communist Party of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal...

 Jhalanath Khanal , Madhav Kumar Nepal

Madhav Kumar Nepal

Madhav Kumar Nepal is a Nepali politician who was Prime Minister of Nepal from May 25, 2009 until February 6, 2011. He was nominated as a PM through internal arrangements within the current ruling coaliation government of Nepal. Nepal announced his resignation as Prime Minister on June 30, 2010...

)], and Nepali Congress

Nepali Congress

The Nepali Congress is a Nepalese political party. Nepali Congress led the 1950 Democratic Movement which successfully ended the Rana dynasty and allowed commoners to take part in the polity. It again led a democratic movement in 1990, in partnership with leftist forces, to end monarchy and...

 (Sushil Koirla

Sushil Koirala

Sushil Koirala is a Nepalese politician and the 6th and current President of the Nepali Congress Party. He was elected to the post on September 22, 2010 at the 12th general convention of the party...

)]) are also Bahuns.

Excluding the indigenous janajati ethnic groups Newar

Newar

The Newa , Newār or Newāl) are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.Newas have lived in the Kathmandu...

, Magar

Magar

The Magars are an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal whose homeland extends from the western and southern edges of the Dhaulagiri section of the high Himalayas range south to the prominent Mahabharat foothill range and eastward into the Gandaki basin. In Nepal, there are a good number of people who...

, Gurung

Gurung

The Gurung people, also called Tamu, are an ethnic group that migrated from Mongolia in the 6th century to the central region of Nepal. Gurungs, like other east Asian featured peoples of Nepal such as Sherpa, Tamang, Thakali, Magar, Manaaggi, Mustaaggi, and Walunggi, are the indigenous people of...

, Tamang

Tamang

The Tamangs are the ancient and original inhabitants of the mountains and plains of the Himalayan regions of Nepal and India. Their ancient capital being Yambu - modern day Kathmandu. They have their own distinct culture, language and religion. Their ancestral domain is popularly known as...

, Rai

Rai (ethnic group)

The Rai are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. They were Raya meaning king. Once someone was recognized as a ruler then Hindus awarded the title Raja, Rai, Raya, Malla etc. When the king Pritivi Narayan Shah couldn't defeat Kirant king , he somehow took them in...

, Limbu

Limbu people

The Yakthung or Limbu tribes and clans belong to the Kirati nation or to the Kirat confederation.They are indigenous to the hill and mountainous regions of east Nepal between the Arun and Mechi rivers to as far as Southern Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim....

, Sherpa

Sherpa people

The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...

, Manang

Manang

Manang is a town in the Manang District of Nepal. It is located at 28°40'0N 84°1'0E with an altitude of . At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 391 people living in 120 individual households....

gay, Mustang-gi, Thakali, Dolpo, Walungi and similar ethnic groups comprise over 50% of the population of the Middle Hills, the Bahun represent 31% of the Hindu population while the second-ranked Chhetri or Kshatriya

Kshatriya

*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

 and Thakuri castes who were traditionally rulers and soldiers make up another 42%. This leaves only 27% engaged in occupational castes such as blacksmiths, tailors/musicians, tanners/cobblers, potters, sweepers

Chamar

Chamar |tanner]]"; from the Sanskrit Charmakara) is a prominent occupational caste in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Chamar is a Dalit sub-caste mainly found in the northern states, such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and in Nepal at least north to the Himalayas...

 and goldsmiths

Sunar

Sunar is a Hindu caste in India and Nepal referring to the community of people who work as goldsmiths...

. This top-heavy social structure contrasts strongly with that of Nepal's Terai

Terai

The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...

 plains and the adjacent territories of northern India.

The Bahun appear to be descendants of high-caste Hindus fleeing into the himalayan foothills during Moslem invasions across the Gangetic Plain in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 who interbred with Khas

Khas

Originally the Khas / Khasas or Khasiyas are the mountain dwellers living in the southern shadow of the Himalayan range from Kashmir to Bhutan, but mostly in Nepal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North Bengal, Sikkim and Bhutan,...

 peoples moving eastward along the himalayan foothills from Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

 and Kumao/Garwal. This latter group settled first in the Karnali River basin, then the Gandaki and finally the Kosi basin as well as into Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

 and Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

.

Family names of the Bahun

• A अ - Acharya (आचार्य), Adhikari (अधिकारी), Arjel (अर्जेल)/Arjyal (अर्ज्याल)/Aryal (अर्याल), Awasthi (अवस्थी)
• Ā आ - Atreya (आत्रेय),
• B ब - Badal (बडाल), Banskota (बास्कोटा), Baral (बराल), Bastakoti (बस्ताकोटी), Bastola (बास्तोला), Basyal/Bashyal/Basel (बस्याल/ बश्याल/ बसेल)
• Bh भ - Bhandari (भन्डारी), Bhatta (भट्ट), Bhattarai (भट्टराई), Bhetuwal (भेटुवाल), Bhurtel (भुर्तेल)
• Ch च - Chalise (चालिसे), Chapagain (चापगाईँ), Chataut (चटौत), Chaulagain (चौलागाई), Chiluwal (चिलुवाल)
• D द - Dahal (दहाल), Devkota (देवकोटा), Dulal (दुलाल)
• D ड - Dallakoti (डल्लाकोटी), Dumre (डुम्रे)
• Dh ढ - Dhakal
  Dhakal
  Dhakal is one of the most common [Brahmin] castes found in Nepal. They are believed to the direct decedents of Rishi or sage Upamanyu , who is in turn believed to be descended from RishiVasishta. They are believed to be originated from a place called Dhaku in Gorkha district of western Nepal. Yaku...
  
   (ढकाल), Dhungana (ढुङ्गाना), Dhungel (ढुंगेल)
• G ग - Gajurel (गजुरेल), Gaudel (गौडेल), Gautam (गौतम), Gotame (गोतामे), Guragain/Gurangain (गुरागाईँ), Gyanwali (ज्ञवाली)
• Gh घ - Ghimire (घिमिरे)
• H ह - Humagain (हुमगाईँ)
• J ज - Joshi (जोशी), Jaisi
• K क - Kafle (कफ्ले/काफ्ले), Kalakheti (कलाखेती), Kandel (कंडेल)/Kadel (कडेल), Kattuwal (कत्तुवाल), Koirala (कोइराला)
• Kh ख - Khanal (खनाल), Kharel (खरेल), Khatiwada (खतिवडा)
• L - Lamichhane (लामिछाने), Lamsal(लम्साल), Lekhak (लेखक), Lohani (लोहनी)
• M म - Mainali (मैनाली), Marasheni (मरासिनी), Maratha (मराठा), Mishra (मिश्र)
• N - Nepal (नेपाल), Neupane (नेउपाने), Niraula (निरौला), Nyaupane (न्यौपाने)
• O ओ - Ojha (ओझा), Oli (ऑळी)
• P प - Prasai(n) (प्रसाईं), Parajuli, Pageni (पंगेनी), Pandey (पाँडे), Pandit (पण्डित), Pant (पन्त), Pathak (पाठक), Pokhrel/Pokharel (पोखरेल), Paudyal (पौड्याल)/Poudyal/Paudel
  Paudel
  Paudel is commonly South Asian surname, mainly used in the Nepal. Nevertheless, Paudel surname is being used interchangeably in all continent with Poudyal, Poudel, Paudyal, and some other variations regardless of its origination, religion, and race.Most people with this surname live in the Nepali...
  
   (पौडेल), Pudasiani (पुडासैनी), Pyakurel (प्याकुरेल)Pukar
• Ph फ - Phuyal (फुयाल)
• R र - Rajopadhyaya (राजोपाध्याय)
  Rajopadhyaya
  Rajopadhyaya is one of the top most Bramhan from Nepalese Caste System in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. According to their own legendary history, the origination of Rajopadhyaya Brahmans is from Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh , one of the ancient Northern Indian cities with great political, religious, and...
  
  , Ratatimule, Regmi (रेग्मी), Rijal (रिजाल), Rimal (रिमाल), Rishal (रिशाल)
• Sh श - Sharma (शर्मा), Shivakoti (शिवाकोटी)
• S स - Sangraula (संग्रौला), Sapkota (सापकोटा), Satyal (सत्याल), Sedhain (सेढाई), Sigdel (सिग्देल), Simkhada (सिम्खडा),Silwal (सिलवाल), Subedi (सुवेदी),
• T त - Timilsina (तिमल्सेना), Tiwari (तिवारी), Tripathi (त्रिपाठी)
• Th थ - Thapaliya (थपलिया)
• W व - Wagle (वाग्ले)
• U उ - Upadhyaya (उपाध्याय), Upreti/Uprety (उप्रेती)

Very often, Brahmins can be identified by their middle names being Dev (देव), Nath (नाथ), Mani (मणि), Raj (राज), Prasad (प्रसाद), Devi (देवी) or Kumari (कुमारी). Brahmins never use bahadur (बहादुर) in their names because it is associated mainly with Chhetris (Kshatriya) and "martial tribes".

External links

• The complete reference to Brahmins: Material from this site has been borrowed for this article with the permission of Dr. Vepachedu
• A List of Brahmin Castes and Sub-castes