There are two distinct groups of Nenets stricto sensu based on their economy: the Tundra Nenets (living far to the north) and the Khandeyar or Forest Nenets. A third group of Nenets (Yaran people) has emerged as a result of intermarriages between Nenets and the Izhma tribe of the Komi peoples.
The Samoyedic languages form a branch of the Uralic language family. They moved (from farther south in Siberia) to the northernmost part of what later became Russia before the 12th century.