The Benson surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 86,081 people carried this name — #365 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,430 people counted. That is up 2% from 84,233 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Benson surname
An English habitational surname from Old English from a place in Oxfordshire.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Benson» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 16 births for the Benson name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 115 people named Benson.
22 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 14 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
49 people named Benson live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 22 people named Benson live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
308 people named Benson are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Benson in American newspapers,
1925.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 659,675 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Benson,
with a public archive behind them.
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Alexander Vigors Benson d. 1939 · physician -
William E. Benson d. 1915 · businessperson -
Joseph Benson d. 1928 · politician
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John Benson d. 1667 · publisher
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William Benson d. 1549 · Catholic monk
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Robert Benson d. 1676 · lawyer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Benson.
- Benoit 20,160 · U.S. census
- Benoliel 126 · U.S. census
- Bens 335 · U.S. census
- Bense 311 · U.S. census
- Bensimon 276 · U.S. census
- Benso 120 · U.S. census
- Bento 2,596 · U.S. census
- Bentz 5,923 · U.S. census
- Bentzinger 259 · U.S. census
- Benveniste 310 · U.S. census
- Benvenuti 633 · U.S. census
- Benvenuto 1,142 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Benson is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.