Frequency: (910)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Eastern German, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a short form of a personal name derived from Latin Benedictus (see Benedict).
2. Southern French: occupational name for a merchant or tradesman.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
