Find out how popular the last name Ben is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ben.

Ben, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ben surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ben in America

Ben is the 9596th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ben surname appeared 3,386 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ben.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ben to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ben

The surname "Ben" is believed to have originated in ancient Persia, now modern-day Iran, during the 6th century BCE. It is derived from the Persian word "ben," which means "son" or "offspring." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a patronymic, indicating the familial relation to one's father or ancestor.

In the early centuries of the Common Era, the name "Ben" spread across the Middle East and North Africa due to the expansion of the Persian Empire and the subsequent influence of Arabic culture. It is likely that the name was adopted by various ethnic groups and communities within these regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "Ben" can be found in the ancient Arabic manuscripts and genealogical records from the 7th century CE. These documents often listed individuals with the prefix "Ben" or "Ibn" followed by their father's name, signifying their lineage.

During the Middle Ages, the surname "Ben" gained prominence in parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal, where it was likely introduced by the Moors and Sephardic Jews who settled in the Iberian Peninsula. The name can be found in various historical documents and records from this period.

Among the notable individuals who bore the surname "Ben" throughout history are:

1. Maimonides (1135-1204), a renowned Jewish philosopher, astronomer, and rabbi from Córdoba, Spain.
2. Judah ben Samuel (12th century), a German Jewish scholar and author of the "Sefer Hasidim" (Book of the Pious).
3. Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (1089-1167), a Spanish Jewish philosopher, mathematician, and biblical commentator.
4. Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (1488-1575), a renowned Jewish legal scholar and author of the influential code of Jewish law, the "Shulchan Aruch."
5. Hasdai ibn Shaprut (915-970), a prominent Jewish scholar and diplomat who served as a minister in the court of the Caliph of Córdoba.

The surname "Ben" has also been associated with various place names and geographic locations throughout history, including the town of Ben Aknoun in Algeria and the Ben Amor region in Tunisia, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ben

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ben.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ben was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ben has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ben was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ben, please contact us.

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