Bennet
One of Hebrew origin meaning "blessed" or "blessed one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,843 living Americans carry the first name Bennet. It is a predominantly male name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Bennet today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bennet births was 2023 (87 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bennet. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bennet with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Bennet is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 73 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 185,976 Americans
Peak year
2023
87 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,951
Tracked since 1910
Census
Bennet in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,972 people with the first name Bennet, which placed it at #7,656 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,656
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,972 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bennet
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bennet is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bennet described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bennet at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.0% · 1,558
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 108
- Black or African American4.8% · 95
- Two or more races4.2% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Bennet
Bennet leans heavily male at 96.5% of total registrations, but 73 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Bennet as a male name
- Ranked #1,951 in 2024
- 80 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (82 births)
Bennet as a female name
- Ranked #13,690 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bennet leans strongly male. 1,841 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 131 female bearers (6.6%).
Popularity
Bennet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bennet from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 585 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bennet remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bennet 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 Bennet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bennets live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Illinois recorded the most babies named Bennet, while Michigan, Colorado, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bennet
The name Bennet has its origins in the medieval English language, derived from the Old French word "benet," which means "blessed." This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in England and parts of France.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled as "Benet" or "Beneit," and it was often associated with those who were considered pious or devout. Over time, the spelling evolved to "Bennet," which became the more commonly accepted variation.
One of the earliest known references to the name Bennet can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Several individuals with the name Benet were recorded in this historical document, indicating the name's usage during the Norman period.
Throughout the centuries, the name Bennet has been borne by various notable individuals. One such figure was Saint Benet Biscop (628-690), an Anglo-Saxon monk who founded the monasteries of St. Peter's at Wearmouth and St. Paul's at Jarrow in Northumbria, England. His contributions to monastic life and scholarship were significant during the 7th century.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir John Bennet (c. 1553-1627), an English politician and landowner who served as a member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. He played a crucial role in the colonization of Virginia and was a member of the Virginia Company.
In the realm of literature, the name Bennet is perhaps most famously associated with the character of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Jane Austen's acclaimed novel "Pride and Prejudice," published in 1813. The witty and spirited Elizabeth Bennet has become an iconic figure in English literature.
The name Bennet has also been carried by several notable scientists and scholars, including Thomas Bennet (1673-1728), an English philosopher and writer who was a member of the Royal Society and published works on philosophy and theology.
Finally, one cannot overlook the significance of the name Bennet in the realm of music. Tony Bennet (born 1926), the legendary American singer and painter, has been a prominent figure in the entertainment industry for over seven decades, known for his timeless vocals and enduring career.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Bennet throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and cultures over the centuries.
People
Bennet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bennet 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
Bennet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bennet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,843 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bennet 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 185,976 US residents.
Is Bennet a common name?
We classify Bennet as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,067 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bennet most popular?
The single biggest year for Bennet was 2023, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bennet is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bennet in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,972 people with the name Bennet, or 0.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,656 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bennet in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bennet?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bennet leans strongly male. 1,841 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 131 female bearers (6.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bennet?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bennet is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bennet most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bennet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (1,558 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bennet in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bennet a male name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Bennet 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.
Is Bennet still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bennet in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bennet can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Bennet?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.