Bence
Hungarian masculine name meaning "blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the first name Bence. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bence today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bence births was 2008 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bence. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
200
~ 1 in 1,713,772 Americans
Peak year
2008
17 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,367
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Bence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bence from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 80 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bence remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bence by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bence
The name Bence is derived from the Hungarian language and has its roots in the medieval era. It is a variation of the name Benedek, which is the Hungarian form of the Latin name Benedictus, meaning "blessed" or "one who is blessed."
In Hungary, the name Bence gained popularity during the Middle Ages, when it was commonly associated with members of the clergy or religious orders. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name can be found in the 11th century, when a monk named Bence was mentioned in a historical document from the Benedictine monastery of Pannonhalma, one of the oldest monasteries in Hungary.
Throughout the centuries, the name Bence has been borne by various notable figures in Hungarian history. One such individual was Bence Kálmán (1913-2003), a renowned Hungarian painter and graphic artist who was a prominent figure in the country's modern art scene. Another notable bearer of the name was Bence Szabó (1939-2022), a Hungarian actor and voice artist who lent his talents to numerous films, television shows, and theatrical productions.
Beyond Hungary, the name Bence has been used in other Central European countries, particularly in areas with significant Hungarian populations or cultural influences. For instance, in the 16th century, a Croatian nobleman named Bence Drašković (1530-1595) served as a military commander and played a crucial role in defending Croatia against Ottoman invasions.
In the realm of literature, the name Bence appears in several works, including the novel "The Paul Street Boys" by Ferenc Molnár, a Hungarian writer renowned for his children's literature. In this novel, one of the main characters is a boy named Bence, whose adventures and mischievous exploits are central to the storyline.
Other notable individuals who have borne the name Bence include Bence Dalnoki (1924-2014), a Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of computational geometry, and Bence Nanay (born 1978), a Hungarian philosopher and academic known for his work in the philosophy of perception and aesthetics.
While the name Bence may not be as widely recognized outside of Central Europe, its rich history and connections to Hungarian culture and folklore have ensured its enduring presence as a beloved name choice within the region and among those with Hungarian heritage.
People
Bence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bence as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 200 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bence going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,713,772 US residents.
Is Bence a common name?
We classify Bence as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bence most popular?
The single biggest year for Bence was 2008, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bence is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bence a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bence in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.