Benson Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Benson last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Benson last name
Meaning of the Benson last name: son of Ben (Benedict). Benson means "son of Ben", a pet form of Benedict, from the Latin for "blessed". In some families it comes instead from the village of Benson in Oxfordshire. The name is most at home in the north of England. A curious detail: in America, Benson also absorbed Scandinavian names such as Bengtsson, so many American Bensons have Swedish or Norwegian roots rather than English ones.
Arms associated with the Benson name
English heralds once rode round the counties checking who used arms, and families with the Benson name appear in that long tradition.
Get your full Benson family history
This is only a glimpse of the Benson story. The full Benson history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Benson coat of arms. Get the full Benson report.
Benson name FAQ
What does the Benson name mean?
Son of Ben (Benedict). Common variants include Bennison, Bensen, Bengtsson.
Where does the Benson surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Sweden.
Is there a Benson coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Benson coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.