2000
#851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,032
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.73
Uncommon Last name
Benton
A locational surname derived from places in England meaning "town in a bent or grassy area."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 41,275 Americans carry the last name Benton. That puts it at #954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 12.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,304 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Benton 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 Benton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
41K
1 in 8,304
Census rank
#954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
12.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
36K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 35,994 bearers of the surname Benton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 12.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Benton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Benton
The surname Benton has its origins in England, where it first emerged during the medieval period. It is derived from an Old English place name, "Bentun," which translates to "bent grass town" or "town on the bend." The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documents landholders in England after the Norman Conquest.
Benton is a locational surname, meaning it originated from a specific place or geographic location. In this case, the name likely referred to individuals who hailed from one of the many towns or villages bearing the name Benton or a similar variation, such as Benton Magna in Lincolnshire or Benton Parva in Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John de Benton, who was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1275. Another notable figure was Sir Robert Benton, a wealthy merchant and alderman of London, who lived in the 15th century and served as Lord Mayor of London in 1491.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Benton family gained prominence in various parts of England. Sir Edward Benton (1539-1610) was a notable English politician and landowner from Hertfordshire, while John Benton (1622-1674) was an English Puritan minister and author who emigrated to America and became a co-founder of the town of Milford, Connecticut.
In the 18th century, Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858) was a prominent American politician and Senator from Missouri, known for his advocacy of westward expansion and his opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson. His great-nephew, Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), was a renowned American painter and muralist, widely celebrated for his depictions of the American West.
Another famous bearer of the name was Jesse Benton (1815-1868), an American politician and newspaper editor from Mississippi, who served as a congressman and played a significant role in the presidential campaigns of Henry Clay and James K. Polk.
While the Benton surname has its roots in England, it has spread across the globe and can be found in various countries today, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Australia, where many descendants of early English settlers have carried on the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Benton
Among Census respondents with the surname Benton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Benton 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 Benton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.0% · 23,774
- Black or African American24.5% · 8,834
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,630
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,182
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 349
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 225
Timeline
Historical Census data for Benton
Benton 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
#912
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,912
+880 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 12.85
Rank movement Down 61 places
2020
#954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,994
-1,918 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 12.04
Rank movement Down 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #851 | 37,032 | 13.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #912 | 37,912 | 12.85 | +880 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 61 places |
| 2020 | #954 | 35,994 | 12.04 | -1,918 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 42 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 Benton 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 | #912 | #954 | -4.6% |
| Count | 37,912 | 35,994 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 12.85 | 12.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Benton bearers went from 37,912 to 35,994 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #912 to #954.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Benton
FAQ
Benton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Benton?
Name Census estimates that about 41,275 living Americans carry the surname Benton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,304 residents.
How common is Benton?
Benton ranks #954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 12.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 35,994 people with the surname Benton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (41,275), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 12.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 12.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Benton.
Has Benton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Benton went from 37,912 recorded bearers to 35,994. That is a decrease of 1,918 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #912 to #954.
What does the Census say about the background of Benton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Benton, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Benton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (23,774 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Benton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.0%), Black (24.5%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Benton (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 Benton mean?
A locational surname derived from places in England meaning "town in a bent or grassy area." 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 Benton (12.04 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 share the surname Benton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.