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

Benco, 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 Benco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Benco in America

Benco is the 118185th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Benco surname appeared 147 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Benco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Benco 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 Benco

The surname Benco originated in the region of Lombardy, Italy during the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "bencio," which means "good" or "well-born." The name may have been initially used as a nickname or a way to distinguish a family of high social standing.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Benco can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of documents from the Lombard kingdom, dating back to the year 1187. The document mentions a nobleman named Guglielmo Benco, who was granted land rights in the town of Brescia.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in the records of the Republic of Venice, where a family of merchants named Benco was involved in the lucrative spice trade. One notable member was Marco Benco, a successful trader who lived from 1325 to 1402.

The name Benco also has ties to the region of Tuscany, where it was associated with the influential Benco family of Florence. In the 15th century, Giovanni Benco (1428-1492) served as a diplomat and advisor to the Medici family, playing a crucial role in the political affairs of the city-state.

During the Renaissance period, the name Benco gained further prominence when the artist and architect Pietro Benco (1495-1564) designed several notable buildings in Venice, including the Church of San Zaccaria.

In the 17th century, the Benco name appeared in the records of the Spanish Empire, with a family of that name having settled in the colonies of South America. One of the earliest recorded members was Diego Benco (1612-1679), a prominent landowner and rancher in present-day Argentina.

As the Benco family spread across Europe and beyond, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Benko, Benkov, and Bencovich, reflecting the local languages and dialects of different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Benco

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

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 Benco 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 Benco 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 Benco was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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