Benning
An old patronymic surname meaning “son of Ben,” with English place-name connections as well.
The #9,085 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,834 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Benning is generally understood as a patronymic surname built on the short form Ben, with the ending -ing meaning “descendant of” or “son of.” In English surname usage, that -ing ending appears in several older family names and place-names. Some writers also note that Benning occurs in place-names such as Bennington, which may have helped reinforce the surname form.
History
19th- and early-20th-century surname scholars treated Benning as a genuine English patronymic, and they compared it with other -ing surnames like Browning and Harding. The name is recorded in medieval and later English sources, and it also appears in American records, reflecting later migration. Because Ben is itself short for several longer given names, the surname may sometimes have had more than one original source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some surname historians linked Benning with nearby place-names such as Bennington, Benningbrough, and Benningholme, showing how family names and place-names can overlap.
From the historical record
“London, i, o ; Boston (U.S.), 3, b. Benning.— Bapt. 'the son of Benning ' ; cf. Harding, Browning, ^c Among our place*names we have Bennington, Benningbrough, and Benningholme.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)