Benge
A surname that likely began as a shortened form of Benjamin.
The #6,750 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,811 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken as a clipped or pet form of the personal name Benjamin. In that reading, it began as a nickname for someone called Ben or Benj and then became hereditary as a family name. The deeper root of Benjamin is Hebrew, traditionally explained as meaning “son of the right hand” or “son of the south.”
History
Lower explicitly treats Benge as a curt or nicked form of Benjamin, which fits the way many English surnames grew from common given names. The name is uncommon and appears in English records, though it is not among the major Benjamin-derived surnames. The Barber excerpts also show Benge as a family name in a broader onomastic context, but they do not add a different etymology.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Benge is one of several surnames that trace back to the same biblical root as Benjamin, alongside forms like Benn and Benson.
From the historical record
“and Durham. BENGE. A curt or nicked form of Benjamin. BENII ACOCK. See Benjamin. BENHAjM, a tything in co. Berks. BENJAMIN. The personal name. As a surname it is chiefly, but not altogether, confined to the Jewish families. The deri- vative surnames are Benn, Bean, Benns, Benson, Benhacock, Bencock, Benkin,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom