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

Benny, 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 Benny surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Benny in America

Benny is the 19602nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Benny surname appeared 1,376 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 Benny.

We can also compare 2010 data for Benny 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 Benny

The surname Benny has its origins in the Middle Ages, originating from the medieval French name "Benignus" or "Benicius", both meaning "kind" or "good-natured". This name was derived from the Latin word "benignus", which had the same meaning.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Benny can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in France. It is believed that the name was initially used as a descriptive nickname, referring to an individual with a pleasant or amiable disposition.

In the 13th century, the surname Benny began to appear in various records and documents across Europe, including the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in England, which date back to 1212. This suggests that the name had spread beyond its French origins, likely due to the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

One notable early bearer of the surname was Sir John Benny, a knight who lived in the late 13th century and served under King Edward I of England. He is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1290.

In the 14th century, the surname Benny appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This indicates that the name had established itself in England by the late 11th century.

Another prominent figure with the surname Benny was William Benny, a Scottish clergyman and theologian who lived from 1570 to 1633. He served as the minister of the Tron Kirk in Edinburgh and was highly respected for his religious writings.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Benny also gained a foothold in various parts of Europe, including Germany, where it was spelled as "Benny" or "Benni", and in the Netherlands, where it was sometimes rendered as "Bennij" or "Beneij".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname in the United States dates back to the late 17th century, when John Benny, a merchant from England, settled in Virginia in 1693.

Other notable individuals with the surname Benny throughout history include Sir John Benny (1805-1879), a British engineer and pioneer in the construction of suspension bridges, and Jack Benny (1894-1974), an American comedian, vaudeville performer, and actor who became a household name on radio and television.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Benny

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

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

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

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