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The surname Benedict

A patronymic surname, carried by 17,036 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbɛnədɪkt/ 3 syllables Soundex B532 Also a first name

Benedict: #2,130 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Benedict #2,130, 17,036 people Benedict: #2,130 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Benedict #2,130, 17,036 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Benedict is more common than 98.7% of them.

Origin

From Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order, from Late Latin Benedictus, from benedictus (“blessed, well spoken of”), from Latin benedīcō (“to bless, to speak well of”). Doublet of Bennett, Benoit, and Benito.

Benedict is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 17,036 people named Benedict in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,123 Americans. That is up 1.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,846.

#2,130
rank among US surnames
17,036
people in 2010
5.8
per 100,000 Americans
+1.1%
change since 2000 (was #1,964)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#2,121Keating17,06018,098
#2,122Chow17,05918,099
#2,123Dutton17,05718,101
#2,125Flood17,05318,105
#2,127Read17,04818,110
#2,128Hobson17,04318,116
#2,129Bustos17,04018,119

Who is named Benedict

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

91% of people named Benedict identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.9% as two or more races.

  • White (not Hispanic) 91%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.0%
  • Two or more races 1.9%
  • Black (not Hispanic) 1.6%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native 1.2%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Benedicts

15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Ruth Benedict
    American anthropologist and folklorologist (1887-1948)
  • Dirk Benedict
    American actor (b. 1945)
  • Rob Benedict
    American actor, born 1970
  • Jay Benedict
    American actor (1951-2020)
  • Richard Benedict
    American actor (1920–1984)
  • Paul Benedict
    American actor (1938–2008)
  • Paul K. Benedict
    American anthropologist, mental health professional, and linguist (1912–1997)
  • Ed Benedict
    American animator (1912–2006)
  • Brooks Benedict
    American actor (1896-1968)
  • Manson Benedict
    American nuclear engineer (1907-2006)
  • Maggie Benedict
    Actor, born 1981
  • William Benedict
    American actor (1917-1999)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Benedict

Benedict has the Soundex code B532, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B532.

Questions

Where does the surname Benedict come from?
From Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order, from Late Latin Benedictus, from benedictus (“blessed, well spoken of”), from Latin benedīcō (“to bless, to speak well of”). Doublet of Bennett, Benoit, and Benito.
How common is the surname Benedict?
17,036 people in the United States had the surname Benedict in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,123 Americans. It ranked 2,130th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Benedict?
In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Benedict identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Benedict?
Ruth Benedict, American anthropologist and folklorologist (1887-1948), followed by Dirk Benedict.
Where is the surname Benedict most common?
Wikidata records people named Benedict in the United States.
How do you pronounce Benedict?
Benedict is /ˈbɛnədɪkt/, 3 syllables.
What type of surname is Benedict?
Benedict is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Benedict getting more or less common?
More common. 16,846 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,036 in 2010, up 1.1%.
What are other spellings of Benedict?
Bene't.
Is Benedict also a first name?
Yes. Benedict is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.