The Bengali Brahmins are those Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

 region of the Indian subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

, Tripura

Tripura

Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...

, Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

 and Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. When the British left India in 1947, carving out separate nations (see partition

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

), a number of families moved from the Muslim-majority East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

 (now Bangladesh) to be within the borders of the newly defined Republic of India, and continued to migrate for several decades thereafter.

Historically, the Bengali Brahmins have been the standard bearers of Madhyadeshiya culture in Bengal (Madhyadesh is the historic-cultural region of the upper Ganga-Yamuna doab which was the seat of Panch-Gauda brahmins).

Bengali Brahmins are categorized as Pancha-Gauda

Pancha-Gauda

Pancha-Gauda and Pancha-Dravida are two chief divisions of Brahmins, as per the śloka from Rājatarangini of / Kalhana:कर्णाटकाश्च तैलंगा द्राविडा महाराष्ट्रकाः ,गुर्जराश्चेति पञ्चैव द्राविडा विन्ध्यदक्षिणे ||सारस्वताः कान्यकुब्जा गौडा उत्कलमैथिलाः,...

 Brahmins (the Brahmins who traditionally lived to the north of the Vindhyas).
The earliest historically verifiable presence of brahmins in Bengal can be ascertained from Dhanaidaha copper-plate inscription of Kumargupta 1 of the Gupta Year 113 (433 C.E.) which records the grant of land to a brahmin named Varahasvamin of the Samavedi school.