Manbhum gets its name from the 16th century military general Man Singh I who is known for his conquests Of Bihar, Odisha and parts of Bengal.

The company formed Jungle-Mahal district in 1805, incorporating the Panchet estate and other forested areas into a single administrative unit, with headquarters nearby present-day Bankura town.

Post-independence, linguistic tensions emerged in the district due to imposition of Hindi language over the native Bengali-speaking majority.

Consequently, on November 1, 1956, Purulia officially became a part of West Bengal, comprising 16 police stations, covering an area of 2,007 square miles (5,200 km2), and hosting a population of 1,169,097.

Today, these areas form parts of the Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ranchi, Saraikela Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts in Jharkhand.

Other noteworthy linguistic groups encompassed Koda (4,623), Bhumij (2,918), Gujarati (1,912), Kharia (1,995), Marwadi (1,774), Odia (1,563), Karmali (1,568), Telegu (1,332), Kurukh (946), Naipal (662), Punjabi (661), Mundari (789), Tamil (525), Mahali (312), and Ho (57).

Other significant caste groups include Bauri (6.7%), Bhumij (5.74%), Brahman (4.58%), Kumhar (3.15%), Jolha (3.12%), Teli (2.68%), Goala, Ahir and Yadav (2.26%), Rajwar (2.15%), Kamar (1.95%), Bhuiya (1.86%), Rajput (1.7%), Hajam/Nai(1.38%), Dom (1.36%), Hari (1.15%), Ghatwar (0.98%), Mochi (0.94%), Kora (0.86%), Kayastha (0.8%), Dhobi (0.79%), Kahar (0.78%), Tanti (0.65%), Mahli (0.6%), Bania (0.56%), Koiri (0.54%), Chamar (0.51%), and Kewat (0.5%).