Origin
Ben : 1: Native American (mainly Navajo) and African American: adoption of the English personal name Ben (short form of Benjamin) as a surname.2: Italian (also Del Ben): from a dialect form of the adverb bene ‘well’. This form without the preposition is found only in Belluno province in particular in Taibon Agordino.3: Indian (Gujarat): from Gujarati ben ‘sister’ from Sanskrit bhaginī a title often attached to their personal name by Gujarati women. It is not a true surname but is sometimes used as a surname by women who do not have a surname.4: Muslim: abstracted as a surname from Arabic ben ‘son of’ from ibn ‘son’. This word was used especially during the medieval period to form patronymics that then came to function like a surname.5: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 賁 meaning ‘rush’ in Chinese: (i) said to be traced back to the personal name Xian Ben Fu (縣賁父) a carriage drive during the reign of Duke Zhuang of Lu (706–662 BC). (ii) from the second element of Hu Ben (虎賁) the name of an official post in charge of guarding the king or the royal palace. (iii) from the first element of Ben Hun (賁渾) the name of a branch minority ethnic group in ancient western China.
Banegas : Spanish: variant of Benegas a patronymic composed of Arabic or Jewish ben ‘son’ + the medieval personal name Egas. Compare Vanegas.
Barach : 1: Americanized form of Croatian and Serbian Barać and Barač (see Barac).2: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of the Hebrew patronymic phrase Ben Rabi Hayyim ‘son of rabbi Hayyim’.
Barad : 1: Indian (Gujarat): Brahmin name of unexplained etymology.2: Indian (Punjab): variant of Brar.3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of the Hebrew patronymic phrase Ben Rabi David ‘son of Rabbi David’.
Barak : 1: Jewish (Israeli): from the Biblical Hebrew personal name Barak meaning ‘lightning’. The surname mainly represents a Hebraicized form of several original eastern Ashkenazic surnames having similar consonants.2: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of the Hebrew patronymic phrase Ben Rabi Kalonymos ‘son of rabbi Kalonymos’. The personal name Kalonymos means ‘beautiful name’ in Greek.3: Turkish and Croatian: descriptive nickname from Turkish barak ‘hairy’ which is also a loanword in Croatian. As a Turkish name this is also an ornamental name meaning ‘thick-piled downy cloak or carpet’.4: Croatian: from an old pet form of the personal name Bartolomej (see Bartholomew) or of its vernacular variants Bartol or Bartul.5: Czech and Slovak (Barák): status name for someone who lived in a cottage without land from barák ‘cottage cabin’.6: Hungarian: habitational name from a place called Barak.7: Hungarian: from a pet form of either of two personal names Bartalan (an old variant of Bertalan; see Bartholomew) or Barabás (see Barabas).8: Muslim (Afghanistan): from the Arabic personal name Barak derived from the Semitic root meaning ‘blessing’. See also Mubarak.
Barash : Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of a personal name such as Shelomo (see Solomon) Shemuel (see Samuel) Shimon (see Simon) or Shimshon (see Samson); see also Brill.
Baratz : Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of the personal name Tsvi; see also Brill.
Barish : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of a compound male personal name whose parts begin with I- and Sh- e.g. Isaac Shimon; see also Brill.2: In some cases possibly also an Americanized form of Turkish Barış (see Baris).
Bash : 1: English: variant of Bach 3.2: Jewish: acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben ‘son of’ and of a personal name such as Shelomo (see Solomon) Shemuel (see Samuel) Shimon (see Simon) or Shimshon (see Samson); see also Brill. In North America this surname is also an altered form of the variant Basch.3: Americanized form of German Basch.4: Americanized form of Slovenian Baš (see Bas).
Behar : 1: Spanish (Béhar): variant of Bejar.2: Jewish (from the Ottoman Empire): acronymic surname from the first letters of the Hebrew expression ben kvod rabbi ‘son of a honored rabbi’ in which the last word does not necessarily mean a spiritual leader of a Jewish community; it represents a title of respect for a man close to English Mister. In the Ottoman Empire Jews who had no fixed surname were traditionally named in Hebrew documents according to the pattern X bekhar Y where X and Y are male personal names. For example Abraham bekhar Moshe means ‘Abraham the son of Mister Moshe’. At the turn of the 20th century for numerous Ottoman Jews having no surname Be(k)har was recorded as their surname. Compare Bachar 1 and Bahar 4.
Behn : German:: 1: from a short form of the personal name Bernhard.2: in some cases perhaps a variant of Bein from Middle Low German bēn ‘bone leg’ a nickname for someone with an irregularity.
Ben-David : Jewish (from North Africa and the Ottoman Empire; also Bendavid): patronymic from the personal name David + Hebrew or vernacular Arabic ben ‘son’.
Benavides : Spanish: habitational name from a place so called in León probably reflecting the name of the ancient owner composed with Arabic ben ‘son’ and the personal name ʿAbidis.
Benegas : Spanish: patronymic composed of Arabic or Jewish ben ‘son’ + the medieval personal name Egas. Compare Banegas and Venegas.
Benenhaley : Americanized form of an unidentified surname reputedly 'Turkish' (in fact Arabic from North Africa which was in the past part of the Ottoman Empire) Ben Ali a patronymic composed of Arabic ben ‘son’ and the personal name Ali. The surname Benenhaley originates from SC and is borne by the so-called Turks of South Carolina (also known as Turks of Sumter County) an ethnic group of disputed mixed (apparently largely Moor or Arabic from North Africa but also some Native American and European) ancestry.
Blanning : perhaps from Old French *blaundin ‘flatterer’; compare Blunden. If so spellings such as Blaundone and Blandon are re-interpretations of the name on the analogy of English place-names in -don. No place called Blandon has ben identified.
Brann : 1: English (Kent and Sussex): from a Brittonic Celtic personal name Bran (from bran ‘raven’). The name was imported to England from Brittany following the Norman Conquest.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): Hebrew acronym consisting of ben rabi ‘son of’ + the initials of some personal name such as Nachman Nahum or Nathan.
Brill : 1: English: habitational name from Brill in Buckinghamshire named with the Celtic element bre- ‘hill’ + Old English hyll also ‘hill’.2: North German and Dutch: habitational name from any of various places in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands named Brill from Middle Low German brūl bröil ‘wet lowland’. Compare German Bruehl.3: German: from Middle Low German brill ‘eyeglasses’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spectacles or perhaps a nickname for someone who wore them.4: Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name most likely Yude (Juda) Leyb. Many Ashkenazic surnames beginning with Br- and Bar- are of acronymic origin but without detailed evidence from family histories it is impossible to specify the personal name from which each is derived.
Brim : 1: English (Bedfordshire): variant of Bream.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name; see also Brill.
Brin : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Brin the Yiddish name for Brno a city in Moravia.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name; see also Brill.3: French: nickname for a loud or quarrelsome man from Old French brin ‘noise tumult’.4: Altered form of Breton Brien.5: Welsh and English: variant of Bryn from any of the many places called from Welsh bryn ‘hill’.
Britz : 1: German: from a vernacular form of the Celtic personal name Brixius (see Brice).2: German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): habitational name from a place in Brandenburg named Britz.3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name; see also Brill.4: Americanized or Germanized form of Slovenian Bric: habitational name for someone from the hilly region of the Slovene Littoral called Brda (literally ‘hillocks’). Compare Brick and Brizzi.5: Germanized form of Sorbian Brica or Bryca: from local Slavicized forms of the German personal name Fritz.
Brock : 1: English Scottish and North German: variant of Brook.2: English and Scandinavian: nickname for a person supposedly resembling a badger from Middle English brok(ke) ‘badger’ (Old English brocc) and Danish brok (a word of Celtic origin; compare Welsh broch Cornish brogh Irish broc). In the Middle Ages badgers were regarded as unpleasant creatures.3: Dutch and Flemish: from a personal name a short form of Brockert.4: Dutch and Flemish: topographic name a variant of Broek ‘water meadow flood plain’ (see Vandenbroek).5: South German: nickname for a stout and strong man from Middle High German brocke ‘lump piece’.6: North German: topographic name for someone who lived near a marsh (compare standard German Bruch) from Middle Low German brōk ‘swamp moor’ or a habitational name from any of various places called Broch and Brock. This surname is also found in Denmark.7: Jewish (Ashkenazic): probably an acronymic surname from the first letters of Hebrew ben rabi ‘son of rabbi’ and of each part of a Yiddish double male personal name; see also Brill.8: Jewish (from Poland): habitational name from Brok a place in Poland.
Feng : Chinese:: 1: Mandarin form of the surname 馮 meaning ‘gallop’ or ‘wade’ in Chinese: (i) from the first element of the personal name Feng Jian Zi (馮簡子) an official in the state of Zheng (located in part of present-day Shaanxi and Henan province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) from the first element of the placename Feng Cheng (馮城 Feng City) the name of a fief (in present-day Xingyang in Henan province) granted to one of the grandsons of Bi Wan known as Han Wan or Han Wuzi a politician in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) also the ancestor of bearers of the surname 韩 (see Han).2: Mandarin form of the surname 封 meaning ‘confer something (a title land or the like) upon somebody by royal command’ in ancient Chinese: (i) shortened form of Feng Fu (封父) an ancient state (located in present-day Fengqiu in Henan province) during the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC) which was annexed during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (ii) adopted as a surname by members of the Shi Ben (是賁) family from the Xianbei ethnic group during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534 AD).3: Mandarin form of the surname 豐 meaning ‘abundant’ or ‘great’ in Chinese: from the personal name Feng (豐) style name of a prince one of the sons of Duke Mu of Zheng (ruler of the state of Zheng 648–606 BC).4: Mandarin form of the surname 酆: habitational name from the placename Feng (酆) the name of a fief (in present-day Huxian in Shaanxi province) granted to the 17th son of the virtuous King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC).5: Mandarin form of the surname 風 meaning ‘wind’ in Chinese an ancient surname possibly traced back to the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC).6: Mandarin form of the surname 鳳 meaning ‘phoenix’ in Chinese: possibly from the name of an official post prior to the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC) which was said to be derived from the name of a kind of bird.7: Mandarin form of the surname 奉 originally meaning ‘plants growing up to their utmost heights’: from the first element of Feng Chun (奉春) title of Lou Jing an official during the reign of the Emperor Gaozu of Han (256–195 BC).
Formato : Italian: probably a nickname from formato ‘mature fully grown’ or from a shortened form of ben formato ‘well made well built’; alternatively from the medieval personal name Formatus of the same origin.
Maimon : Jewish (Sephardic and Ashkenazic): from the male personal name Maymon derived from Arabic maymūn ‘luck good fortune’. Ashkenazic Jews started to use this personal name due to the fame of the medieval Sephardic religious scholar Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides).
Miao : Chinese:: 1: Mandarin form of the surname 苗 meaning ‘seedling’ in Chinese: (i) from the placename Miao (苗) the name of a fief (located in Jiyuan in Henan province) granted to Ben Huang who fled to the state of Jin after his father Bo Fen an official in the state of Chu was murdered during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) a surname from the state of Bai Ji (located in the Korean peninsula).2: Mandarin form of the surname 繆: from Mu (繆 the same pronunciation as 穆 in ancient Chinese) the posthumous title of the Duke Mu of Qin (ruler of the state of Qin died 621 BC).
Rhynas : probably from Rinnes in Ben Rinnes (Aberlour Banffs) and the associated Glen Rinnes (mainly in Mortlach Banffs); less likely from Rannes in Rathven (Banffs). Certainty about the origin of the place-names is not possible because of the lack of early spellings.
Rubin : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Hebrew personal name Reuven Biblical Reuben interpreted in Genesis 29:32 as reu ‘behold’ + ben ‘son’. This Biblical name influenced the selection of Ashkenazic surnames such as Rubinfeld that are ostensibly derived from the German Yiddish Polish Ukrainian and Russian vocabulary word rubin ‘ruby’ (see 2 below). See also 5 below.2: German French Slovenian and Croatian; Czech and Slovak (Rubín): from Middle High German rubn Old French rubi Slovenian and Croatian rubin Czech and Slovak rubín ‘ruby’ (all ultimately from Late Latin rubinus lapis a derivative of rubeus ‘red’) probably used as a metonymic occupational name for a jeweler.3: German and Swiss German: from a pet form of the personal name Ruprecht (see Rupprecht).4: East German (of Sorbian origin) and Sorbian: habitational name from Ruben (Sorbian Rubyn) near Cottbus (Chóśebuz) in Lusatia. Compare Ruben 2.5: Czech (Rubín) and Welsh: from a variant of the Biblical personal name Ruben (Czech) Reuben (English); see 1 above.6: English: variant of Ruby a cognate of 2 above.7: Italian: variant of Rubino.
Schiefelbein : 1: German: habitational name from Schievelbein in Pomerania.2: North German: from Middle Low German schivelbēn schivelen ‘to sway’ bēn ‘bone leg’ a nickname for someone with a deformity or illness of the foot (originally denoting a horse disease).
Viegas : Portuguese: patronymic derived from a compound of Arabic or Jewish ben ‘son’ + the medieval personal name Egas. This surname is also found in western India where it was taken by Portuguese colonists.
More
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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