Explore the Family Name Benowitz

The meaning of Benowitz

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): patronymic from a short form of the personal name Beniamin (see Benjamin). The ending -owitz is a Germanized form of the East Slavic patronymic ending -ovich, Polish -owicz. Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Morty.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Benowitz has seen a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 70,052 but rose to 61,436 in 2010, marking an increase of 12.3 percent. The count of individuals with this surname also rose by 25.29 percent over the same period, escalating from 261 people in 2000 to 327 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion of individuals per 100,000 bearing the surname Benowitz increased from 0.1 to 0.11, a growth of 10 percent.

20002010Change
Rank#70,052#61,43612.3%
Count26132725.29%
Proportion per 100k0.10.1110%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Benowitz

On the topic of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the Benowitz surname identify as White. Indeed, in both 2000 and 2010, the percentage of those identifying as White was significantly high at 97.32 and 97.86 percent respectively. There was a minor increase of 0.55 percent in this demographic over the decade. The data for other ethnic identities such as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native was either zero or suppressed for privacy reasons.

20002010Change
White97.32%97.86%0.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%