2000
#10,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,838
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Ben
A Hebrew surname meaning "son," or a shortened form of surnames beginning with "Ben-," such as Benjamin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,635 Americans carry the last name Ben. That puts it at #9,765 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,293 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ben surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ben with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 94,293
Census rank
#9,765
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,170 bearers of the surname Ben in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9765th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ben, the largest self-reported group is Black at 30.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (23.0%) and White (22.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ben
Among Census respondents with the surname Ben, the largest self-reported group is Black at 30.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (23.0%) and White (22.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Ben bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ben surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American30.3% · 961
- American Indian and Alaska Native23.0% · 730
- White22.0% · 697
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.2% · 451
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 197
- Two or more races4.2% · 134
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ben
Ben appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,386
+548 bearers (+19.3%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Up 812 places
2020
#9,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,170
-216 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 169 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,408 | 2,838 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,596 | 3,386 | 1.15 | +548 bearers (+19.3%) | Up 812 places |
| 2020 | #9,765 | 3,170 | 1.06 | -216 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 169 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ben surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,596 | #9,765 | -1.8% |
| Count | 3,386 | 3,170 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.15 | 1.06 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ben bearers went from 3,386 to 3,170 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 169 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,596 to #9,765.
FAQ
Ben surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ben?
Name Census estimates that about 3,635 living Americans carry the surname Ben. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,293 residents.
How common is Ben?
Ben ranks #9,765 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,170 people with the surname Ben. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,635), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ben.
Has Ben become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ben went from 3,386 recorded bearers to 3,170. That is a decrease of 216 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,596 to #9,765.
What does the Census say about the background of Ben?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ben, the largest self-reported group is Black at 30.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (23.0%) and White (22.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ben in the 2020 Census, accounting for 30.3% (961 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ben appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (30.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (23.0%), White (22.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ben (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ben mean?
A Hebrew surname meaning "son," or a shortened form of surnames beginning with "Ben-," such as Benjamin. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ben (1.06 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Ben?
Find out how common the surname Ben is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.