Bennett
A very common surname from the medieval personal name Benedict, meaning “blessed.”
The #86 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,247 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bennett is a medieval diminutive and surname form of Benedict, the Latin name meaning “blessed.” In English records it developed through shortened and altered forms such as Ben, Bend-, and Bennett, rather than directly from the full saint’s name. The older suggestion that it came from the word for a minor cleric is generally treated as unlikely in the historical surname literature.
History
The name appears in medieval English records in several related spellings, especially in the East Midlands and East Anglia, and later became firmly established as Bennett. It spread widely through England and then to Britain’s overseas populations, making it one of the more familiar English surnames today. The surname also benefited from the popularity of St. Benedict and the many medieval uses of Benedict as a personal name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower specifically noted that Bennett is a medieval altered form of Benedict and rejected the rival explanation from a clerical title as improbable.
From the historical record
“BENNELL. Benwell, co. Northumb. BENNETT. From the personal name Benedict. In the reigns of Edwards II. and E BEE III. the name is found thus modified : Fitz Benedict, Bcnediscite, Bendiste, Bendish, Bennett. Tliis was in the city of Noi-^-ich. N. and Q. v. 291. The derivation from hend, a minor order of priests, is…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom