Explore the Family Name Benker

The meaning of Benker

German: 1. occupational name for a carpenter, from Middle High German banc ‘bench’ + -er agent suffix. 2. habitational name for someone from a place called Benk, of which there are several examples in Bavaria, or from either of two places in Switzerland named Benken, in Basel and Zurich cantons. Some characteristic forenames: German Wilhelm, Ewald, Fritz, Hans, Kurt, Lotti.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Benker saw a decrease in popularity between the years 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 53,420th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had slipped to the 57,914th position, reflecting a change of -8.41%. The number of individuals bearing this surname also declined slightly during this decade, from 363 to 351, marking a decrease of -3.31%. The proportion per 100,000 people similarly dropped by -7.69%, from 0.13 to 0.12.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#53,420	#57,914	-8.41%
Count	363	351	-3.31%
Proportion per 100k	0.13	0.12	-7.69%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Benker

As for the ethnicity breakdown, again using the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority of individuals with the surname Benker identified as White, though there was a slight decrease in this group from 97.52% in 2000 to 94.59% in 2010. Interestingly, while there were no reported individuals identifying as Hispanic in 2000, by 2010 this group accounted for 2.56% of the Benkers. The representation of individuals identifying with two or more races saw a subtle increase from 1.38% to 1.42%. Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities remained stagnant at 0.00% for both census years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.52%	94.59%	-3%
Hispanic	0%	2.56%	0%
Two or More Races	1.38%	1.42%	2.9%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%