Frequency: (100)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Origin uncertain. This has the form of an English habitational name, and there are places in Shetland and Strathclyde named Benston which could have given rise to the surname; however, the surname is rare in the British Isles. It could perhaps be a variant of Benson 2; alternatively, it may be an Americanized form of an original in some other language.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
