Explore the Family Name Benenhaley
The meaning of Benenhaley
Americanized form of an unidentified surname, reputedly ‘Turkish’ (in fact Arabic, from North Africa, which was in the past part of the Ottoman Empire) Ben Ali, a patronymic composed of Arabic ben ‘son’ and the personal name Ali. The surname Benenhaley originates from SC and is borne by the so-called Turks of South Carolina (also known as Turks of Sumter County), an ethnic group of disputed mixed (apparently largely Moor or Arabic, from North Africa, but also some Native American and European) ancestry. History: The progenitor of the Benenhaleys and the whole Turks of South Carolina community was Joseph Benenhaley, a settler in Sumter District, SC, whose household consisted in 1810 of seven people, including himself. His original name might have been Yusuf ben Ali, but there is no record of it in SC. The Benenhaleys intermarried with very few outsiders, one of them being the Oxendine family.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Benenhaley in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Benenhaley has seen a steady increase between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname improved from 68,360 in 2000 to 64,721 in 2010, marking a change of 5.32 percent. In terms of actual counts, there were 269 individuals carrying the Benenhaley surname in 2000, which increased to 307 by 2010. This represents a growth of 14.13 percent over the decade. Despite this increase, the proportion per 100,000 population remained consistent at 0.1.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #68,360 | #64,721 | 5.32% |
| Count | 269 | 307 | 14.13% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Benenhaley
The ethnic identity associated with the Benenhaley surname exhibits some shifts as per the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, almost all individuals with this surname, about 98.51 percent, identified as White. However, this decreased to 90.23 percent by 2010. There was no representation from the Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic communities in either census year. Interestingly, the 2010 data saw some diversity emerge, with 3.58 percent identifying with two or more races, 1.63 percent identifying as Black, and 3.26 percent identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 98.51% | 90.23% | -8.41% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 3.58% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 3.26% | 0% |
| Black | 0% | 1.63% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 0% | 0% |