2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Benthien
A surname of Low German origin, possibly derived from a place name.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Benthien. That puts it at #152,628 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Benthien surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Benthien appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#152,628
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Benthien in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152628th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Benthien, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Benthien
The surname BENTHIEN is of German origin, traced back to the region of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German words "benth" meaning "bent" or "crooked" and "hien" meaning "meadow" or "pasture". This suggests the name may have referred to a crooked or winding meadow or pastureland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BENTHIEN appears in the town records of Lueneburg, Lower Saxony, dating back to the late 15th century. The name is also found in various 16th-century church records from nearby villages and towns in the region. The spelling variations at the time included Benthyen, Benthin, and Benthen.
Notably, a Johan BENTHIEN, born around 1520, is mentioned in a 1578 manuscript chronicling the history of the town of Uelzen, near Lueneburg. This suggests the BENTHIEN family had established roots in the area by the mid-16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in records from the Duchy of Mecklenburg, indicating the spread of the family beyond Lower Saxony. One notable figure was Christoph BENTHIEN, born in 1652 in Schwerin, who served as a court official under Duke Christian Louis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
The 18th century saw the emergence of a prominent BENTHIEN family in the city of Hamburg. Johann Friedrich BENTHIEN (1709-1784) was a successful merchant and shipowner, and his son, Johann Matthias BENTHIEN (1736-1807), was a respected jurist and legal scholar.
In the 19th century, Carl BENTHIEN (1806-1871), a native of Hamburg, gained recognition as a renowned architect and urban planner. He designed several notable buildings in Hamburg and was involved in the city's urban planning and development.
As the BENTHIEN family spread across Germany and beyond, the name appeared in various other regions, including Saxony, Brandenburg, and Pomerania. While not a widespread surname, it has maintained a presence throughout German-speaking areas for several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Benthien
Among Census respondents with the surname Benthien, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Benthien bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Benthien surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6%
- Unknown or suppressed4.7%
Timeline
Historical Census data for Benthien
Benthien appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-11 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,369 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 20,369 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2000 vs 2010 Census
How has the Benthien surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20002010
| Metric | 2000 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #132,259 | #152,628 | -15.4% |
| Count | 118 | 107 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.0% |
Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, the number of Benthien bearers went from 118 to 107 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 20,369 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,259 to #152,628.
FAQ
Benthien surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Benthien?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Benthien. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Benthien?
Benthien ranks #152,628 in the 2010 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2010 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Benthien. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Benthien.
Has Benthien become more or less common over time?
Between 2000 and 2010, the surname Benthien went from 118 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,259 to #152,628.
What does the Census say about the background of Benthien?
Among Census respondents with the surname Benthien, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%). These figures come from the 2010 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Benthien in the 2010 Census, accounting for 89.7%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Benthien appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (89.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Benthien appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Benthien mean?
A surname of Low German origin, possibly derived from a place name. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2010 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Benthien (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Benthien?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Benthien at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.