Explore the Family Name Benke

The meaning of Benke

1. German: shortened form of Beneke. 2. Germanized form of Sorbian B’enk, B’enka, and B’enko: from a pet form of the personal name Benedikt (see Benedict), Bernat (see Bernard), or Old Sorbian Benisław. 3. Hungarian: from a pet form of the personal name Benedek (see Benedict).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Benke in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Benke saw a slight decline in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 22,174th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had fallen slightly to 23,837th place, representing a 7.5% decrease. The count of individuals with this surname also decreased from 1,087 in 2000 to 1,060 in 2010, reflecting a minor drop of 2.48%. This resulted in an overall decrease in proportion per 100k people from 0.4 to 0.36, a 10% reduction.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#22,174	#23,837	-7.5%
Count	1,087	1,060	-2.48%
Proportion per 100k	0.4	0.36	-10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Benke

The ethnic identity of individuals bearing the Benke surname is primarily white, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. Both in 2000 and 2010, a significant majority, over 96%, identified as white. There was a small percentage that identified as Hispanic, which declined from 2.02% in 2000 to 1.7% in 2010, a change of -15.84%. The category of American Indian and Alaskan Native dipped slightly from 0.74% to 0.57%. Interestingly, the group identifying with two or more races appeared in the 2010 census at 0.66%, which was not present in the 2000 data. The groups Asian/Pacific Islander and Black reported no individuals with the Benke surname for both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.6%	96.6%	0%
Hispanic	2.02%	1.7%	-15.84%
Two or More Races	0%	0.66%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.74%	0.57%	-22.97%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%