2000
#814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,714
First available Census row
Per 100,000 14.35
Uncommon Last name
Bentley
From a place name meaning "bent grass meadow" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 45,158 Americans carry the last name Bentley. That puts it at #860 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,590 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bentley 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bentley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
45K
1 in 7,590
Census rank
#860
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
39K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 39,380 bearers of the surname Bentley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 860th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bentley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bentley
The surname Bentley originated in England and dates back to the medieval era. It is a locational name derived from various places in the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Yorkshire, whose names were composed of the Old English elements "beonet" meaning "bent grass" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing" or "meadow."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Benedleia" in Derbyshire. This entry likely refers to the modern town of Bentley, located near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.
In the 13th century, the name was documented in various spellings such as Benitlegh, Benetlehe, and Benetleye, reflecting the evolving pronunciation and orthography of the time.
One notable historical figure with the surname Bentley was Thomas Bentley (c. 1731-1780), an English actor and dramatist who is credited with introducing the character of Macheath in John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" to the American stage during a tour in 1768.
Another prominent individual was Richard Bentley (1662-1742), an English classical scholar and critic who served as the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. He is renowned for his influential work in textual criticism, particularly his editions of ancient Greek and Latin texts.
In the 19th century, John Bentley (1809-1902) was a distinguished English botanist and horticulturist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and classification. He served as the Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society and published numerous works on British flora.
The surname Bentley is also associated with the automotive industry, with Walter Owen Bentley (1888-1971) being the founder of the luxury car brand Bentley Motors. Born in London, he established the company in 1919 and oversaw the production of high-performance automobiles until the company's acquisition by Rolls-Royce in 1931.
Another noteworthy figure is Phyllis Bentley (1894-1977), an English novelist and travel writer known for her works set in the Yorkshire Dales region, where she grew up. Her novels, such as "Inheritance" and "The Spinning Wheel," explored themes of social class and the impact of industrialization on rural communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bentley
Among Census respondents with the surname Bentley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bentley bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 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 Bentley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 31,315
- Black or African American12.1% · 4,753
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,521
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,356
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 241
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 194
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bentley
Bentley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#862
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,193
+1,479 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 13.63
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#860
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,380
-813 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 13.18
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #814 | 38,714 | 14.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #862 | 40,193 | 13.63 | +1,479 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #860 | 39,380 | 13.18 | -813 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 2 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
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bentley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #862 | #860 | 0.2% |
| Count | 40,193 | 39,380 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 13.63 | 13.18 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bentley bearers went from 40,193 to 39,380 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #862 to #860.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bentley
FAQ
Bentley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bentley?
Name Census estimates that about 45,158 living Americans carry the surname Bentley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,590 residents.
How common is Bentley?
Bentley ranks #860 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 39,380 people with the surname Bentley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (45,158), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Bentley.
Has Bentley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bentley went from 40,193 recorded bearers to 39,380. That is a decrease of 813 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #862 to #860.
What does the Census say about the background of Bentley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bentley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 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 Bentley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (31,315 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bentley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Black (12.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bentley (2000, 2010, 2020).
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 Bentley mean?
From a place name meaning "bent grass meadow" in Old English. 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 2020 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 Bentley (13.18 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 common is the surname Bentley?
See how common the surname Bentley is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.