Explore the Family Name Ben
The meaning of Ben
1. Native American (mainly Navajo) and African American: adoption of the English personal name Ben (short form of Benjamin) as a surname. 2. Italian (also Del Ben): from a dialect form of the adverb bene ‘well’. This form, without the preposition, is found only in Belluno province, in particular in Taibon Agordino. 3. Indian (Gujarat): from Gujarati ben ‘sister’, from Sanskrit bhaginī, a title often attached to their personal name by Gujarati women. It is not a true surname, but is sometimes used as a surname by women who do not have a surname. 4. Muslim: abstracted as a surname from Arabic ben ‘son of’, from ibn ‘son’. This word was used especially during the medieval period to form patronymics that then came to function like a surname. 5. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 賁, meaning ‘rush’ in Chinese: (i) said to be traced back to the personal name Xian Ben Fu (縣賁父), a carriage drive during the reign of Duke Zhuang of Lu (706–662 BC). (ii) from the second element of Hu Ben (虎賁), the name of an official post in charge of guarding the king or the royal palace. (iii) from the first element of Ben Hun (賁渾), the name of a branch minority ethnic group in ancient western China.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Ben in the United States?
The surname Ben has seen an increase in popularity in the United States over a ten-year period, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Ben ranked as the 10,408th most common surname, but by 2010 it had climbed to the 9,596th spot, reflecting a growth of 7.8%. The actual count of people bearing the name also rose, increasing from 2,838 in 2000 to 3,386 in 2010, a change of 19.31%. When measured as a proportion per 100,000 people, the prevalence of the name Ben grew by 9.52%, moving from 1.05 to 1.15.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,408 | #9,596 | 7.8% |
| Count | 2,838 | 3,386 | 19.31% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.05 | 1.15 | 9.52% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ben
In terms of ethnicity, people with the surname Ben showed diverse backgrounds, based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. Over the decade, there was a notable increase of 21.26% in the Asian/Pacific Islander category, moving from 9.55% in 2000 to 11.58% in 2010. The percentage of people identifying as two or more races remained relatively stable, shifting slightly from 2.85% to 2.86%. The White and Hispanic categories saw modest increases, rising by 2.80% and 3.02% respectively. However, Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native identifiers experienced decreases by 7.22% and 3.08% respectively.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 29.92% | 27.76% | -7.22% |
| White | 25.37% | 26.08% | 2.8% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 25.69% | 24.9% | -3.08% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 9.55% | 11.58% | 21.26% |
| Hispanic | 6.62% | 6.82% | 3.02% |
| Two or More Races | 2.85% | 2.86% | 0.35% |