Benson

Benson meaning

Benson is an international boy's name of English origin (surname).

Son of Ben, a medieval short form of Benedict, "blessed"

Also used to mean: son of Benedict

Benson is an English surname meaning "son of Ben". The Dictionary of American Family Names explains Ben, or Benne, as the medieval short form of Benedict, which the Online Etymology Dictionary traces to Late Latin Benedictus, "blessed". So the name carries the same sense as Benedict, the name of the saint who founded the Benedictine order. A smaller group of English Bensons took their name from the village of Benson in Oxfordshire, written Bensingtūn in Old English. In America the name has also absorbed Scandinavian surnames such as Bengtsson. The singer Benson Boone has made it familiar as a first name. It is said BEN-sun.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd ed. (Patrick Hanks, Oxford University Press, 2022), via Geneanet, s.v. Benson · entry Benson · See the entry · checked 27 Oct 2026

References: Dictionary of American Family Names, Benson (Geneanet) · Online Etymology Dictionary, Benedict · Online Etymology Dictionary, Benedictine · Bosworth-Toller, Bensing-tún

Famous namesakes

• Benson Boone, American singer

Popularity abroad

• #279 United States, boys 2025 (up 157 from 436 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Related names

Also starting with Ben-

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