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

Benko, 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 Benko surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Benko in America

Benko is the 21119th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Benko surname appeared 1,243 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 Benko.

We can also compare 2010 data for Benko 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 Benko

The surname BENKO is believed to have originated in Hungary, with its earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Hungarian word "Benedek," which is a variant of the name Benedict, meaning "blessed" in Latin.

In the early medieval period, the BENKO name was found predominantly in the regions of Transdanubia and the Great Hungarian Plain. It is thought to have been adopted as a surname by families who had connections to the Benedictine monastic order or those who were named after St. Benedict, the founder of the order.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the BENKO surname can be found in a land deed from 1278, where a landowner named Petrus BENKO was mentioned. This document is housed in the Hungarian National Archives in Budapest.

During the 15th century, the BENKO name appeared in various historical records, including tax registers and parish documents. In 1467, a man named Matthias BENKO was listed as a resident of the town of Esztergom, which was then an important religious and cultural center in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Over the centuries, the BENKO surname has been associated with several notable individuals. In the 16th century, Georgius BENKO (1525-1587) was a renowned Hungarian humanist scholar and educator who taught at the University of Wittenberg and authored several works on philosophy and theology.

Another notable figure was Janos BENKO (1785-1848), a Hungarian revolutionary who played a pivotal role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-1849 against the Habsburg Monarchy. He served as a member of the revolutionary government and was later executed for his involvement in the uprising.

In the field of music, Sandor BENKO (1912-1997) was a celebrated Hungarian-American composer and pianist. He was known for his contributions to modern classical music and his collaborations with renowned artists such as Martha Graham and Isamu Noguchi.

More recently, Attila BENKO (born 1967) is a Hungarian-born American chess grandmaster and author. He has won numerous international tournaments and is renowned for his expertise in the game.

Throughout its history, the BENKO surname has been associated with various locations in Hungary, such as the towns of Bekescsaba, Debrecen, and Miskolc, where it has been particularly prevalent. The name has also been found in neighboring countries like Slovakia and Romania, likely due to migration patterns within the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Benko

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

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

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

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