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

Benka, 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 Benka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Benka in America

Benka is the 93513th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Benka surname appeared 196 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 Benka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Benka 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 Benka

The surname Benka originated in the region of Central Europe, specifically in the areas that are now part of Poland and Slovakia. It is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, likely derived from the Slavic personal name Benedykt, which itself comes from the Latin name Benedictus, meaning "blessed."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Benka can be found in a Polish census record from the town of Krakow, dated 1521. This document lists a certain Jan Benka as a resident of the city. Another early reference to the name is found in the archives of the town of Presov, in present-day Slovakia, where a man named Mikuláš Benka is mentioned in a land deed from 1547.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Benka name appeared to be concentrated primarily in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia, which at the time were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable figure from this period was Jakub Benka, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Bielsko (now part of Poland) in the late 16th century.

As the centuries progressed, the Benka surname spread to other parts of Central Europe, particularly in the areas that are now part of modern-day Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the 18th century, there are records of a family of farmers named Benka living in the village of Dolné Kočkovce, in what is now Slovakia.

One of the most famous individuals to bear the Benka surname was Jan Benka (1859-1921), a Slovak writer and journalist who played a significant role in the cultural and political awakening of the Slovak people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works, which included novels, short stories, and essays, helped to promote the use of the Slovak language and raise national consciousness among his fellow countrymen.

Another notable figure was Stanislav Benka (1888-1962), a Slovak painter and graphic artist who was a leading figure in the avant-garde art movement in Czechoslovakia in the early 20th century. His works, which often depicted scenes of everyday life in Slovakia, are considered important examples of modern Slovak art.

Štefan Benka (1924-2008) was a Slovak politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia from 1983 to 1988. He played a significant role in shaping the country's foreign policy during the latter years of the communist era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Benka

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

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

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

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