How common is the surname Benton?

37,912 people in the United States had the surname Benton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,144 Americans. It ranked 912th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Benton?

Robert Benton, American screenwriter and film director (1932–2025), followed by Dave Benton.

Where is the surname Benton most common?

Wikidata records people named Benton in the United States and Kingdom of the Netherlands.

How do you pronounce Benton?

Benton is /ˈbɛn.tən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Benton getting more or less common?

More common. 37,032 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 37,912 in 2010, up 2.4%.

Is Benton also a first name?

Yes. Benton 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.

The surname Benton

An English place surname, carried by 37,912 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbɛn.tən/ 2 syllables Soundex B535 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Benton is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

English origin

From either Old English bēan (“bean”) or *beonet (“bentgrass”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).

Benton is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 37,912 people named Benton in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,144 Americans. That is up 2.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 37,032.

#912

rank among US surnames

37,912

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.4%

change since 2000 (was #851)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#903	Truong	38,267	8,068
#904	Costa	38,265	8,069
#905	Correa	38,232	8,076
#906	Blevins	38,229	8,076
#907	Nixon	38,147	8,094
#908	Clements	38,044	8,115
#909	Fry	38,029	8,119

Who is named Benton

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

69% of people named Benton identified as white (not Hispanic), 25% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 69%
Black (not Hispanic) 25%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 2.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Bentons

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Robert Benton
American screenwriter and film director (1932–2025)
Dave Benton
Aruban-Estonian musician (born 1951)
Thomas Hart Benton
American painter (1889–1975)
Glen Benton
American bassist and vocalist, born 1967
Barbi Benton
American former model, actress and singer, born 1950
William Benton
American politician (1900–1973)
Denée Benton
American actress, born 1992
Walter Benton
American jazz musician (1930–2000)
Fletcher Benton
American artist (1931-2019)

Notable Bentons come mostly from the United States (8) and Kingdom of the Netherlands (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Benton

Benton has the Soundex code B535, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B535.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Benton come from?: From either Old English bēan (“bean”) or *beonet (“bentgrass”) + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).
How common is the surname Benton?: 37,912 people in the United States had the surname Benton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,144 Americans. It ranked 912th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Benton?: In the 2010 Census, 69% of people named Benton identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Benton?: Robert Benton, American screenwriter and film director (1932–2025), followed by Dave Benton.
Where is the surname Benton most common?: Wikidata records people named Benton in the United States and Kingdom of the Netherlands.
How do you pronounce Benton?: Benton is /ˈbɛn.tən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Benton?: Benton is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Benton getting more or less common?: More common. 37,032 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 37,912 in 2010, up 2.4%.
Is Benton also a first name?: Yes. Benton 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.