Benson
Torn between Benson and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
surname, "son of Ben(edict)"
The story
Benson is the son of Ben, Benedict's blessing passed through the surname mill, and the family above it is enormous: Benjamin, the anchor, about 823,900 with its own story here, and Ben the everyday form inside both. The record is one of the ledger's steadiest low burns: real use every decade since the 1890s, between about 20 and 640 for a century, then the surname wave found it, about 1,300 in the 2000s, cresting at 5,200 in the 2010s, with 3,800 so far this decade, nearly all boys, about 14,300 to 30. The -son squad keeps adding members because the formula holds: a warm first name one respectful step away. A blessing in the root, a century of patience in the record, and the wave finally at its door.
How popular is Benson around the world?
In the United States, 3,845 babies were named Benson between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 121 boys named Benson were born in 2024, the 267th most common name among boys that year.
Benson is on the official records of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South Australia, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,700
In the United States, 3,845 babies were named Benson between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Benson peaked in the 2020s. In US birth records Benson has stayed between 432 and 5,159 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 3,000
In Canada, 121 boys named Benson were born in 2024, the 267th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 boys named Benson were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Benson in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 22,000
In England and Wales, 27 boys named Benson were born in 2025, ranked 1,093rd among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
last on record 2015
Benson is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2013
Benson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 61 people in Brazil were named Benson, ranked 58,130th, with a median age of 31.
Among people named Benson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 1959
Benson is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Scotland
last on record 2015
Benson is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Benson
Most people given the name Benson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Benson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Benson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Benson fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Benson fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Benson to your family’s tree →