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

Benford, 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 Benford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Benford in America

Benford is the 8293rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Benford surname appeared 3,995 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 Benford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Benford 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 Benford

The surname Benford is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from a combination of two Old English words, "bene" meaning "bean" and "ford" referring to a shallow place where a river could be crossed. This suggests that the name may have referred to an area where beans were grown near a ford or shallow river crossing.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Benford surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Beneford" in this historical document, indicating its presence in the region during the 11th century.

During the 13th century, the name Benford was associated with various locations in England, such as Benford in Bedfordshire and Benfords in Warwickshire. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Notable individuals with the Benford surname throughout history include:

1. Sir John Benford (1530-1598), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. William Benford (1677-1742), a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings in London.
3. Anne Benford (1715-1789), a British writer and poet who published several collections of poetry in the 18th century.
4. James Benford (1820-1892), an English botanist and explorer known for his expeditions to South America and his contributions to the study of tropical plants.
5. Edward Benford (1870-1945), a British engineer and inventor who played a significant role in the development of early aircraft designs.

As the Benford surname spread across England and eventually to other parts of the world through migration, various spelling variations emerged, such as Benforde, Benford, and Benforde. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in its Old English beginnings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Benford

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!