Bennett is an English surname and, less commonly, a given name. Alternative spellings include Bennet, Benett, Benet and Bennette. It is common throughout the British Isles, in England, Scotland and also in Ireland.[citation needed]
Quick Facts Pronunciation, Origin ...
BennettPronunciation | |
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Language(s) | Anglo-Norman, Old French |
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Meaning | "blessed" |
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Region of origin | England, Ireland, Scotland |
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Variant form(s) | Benedict, Benoît, Bénet, Bennet, Benatte, Bennatt, Mac Beinéid, MacBennett |
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It is related also to the medieval name Benedict from the Latin "Benedictus" meaning "well-spoken of" or "blessed".[1] Bennett is the English spelling of the Anglo-Norman name Ben[n]et (modern French first name Benoît, surname Bénet[2]). The oldest public record of the surname is dated 1208 in County Durham in North East England.[3]
In Ireland, the name is an Irish rendition of Beinéid, which is located in South Leinster. The name is also found throughout the southeastern providence of Ulster in Northern Ireland in the form of "MacBennett" in County Monaghan, County Down, and County Tyrone.[4]
Bennett was also found in Perthshire in Scotland. According to author George F. Black, Benedictus, the son of Walter de Sancto Edmundo, witnessed a charter of sale of land in Perth in 1219.[5] The name was common in Edinburgh throughout the 17th century. The variant "Bennet" is more common throughout Scotland, while Bennett is common along the Anglo-Scottish border.
Given name
People with the given name include:
- Benny Carter (1907–2003), jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer
- Bennett Cerf (1898–1971), publisher and founder of American publishing firm Random House
- Ben Cohen (businessman) (born 1951), American businessman and cofounder of Ben & Jerry's
- Bennett Foddy (born 1978), game designer and philosopher
- Bennett Jackson (born 1991), American football player
- Bennett Malone (1944–2017), American politician
- Bennett Miller (born 1966), American film director
- Bennet Omalu (born 1968), Nigerian-American pathologist
- Bennett Joseph Savage (born 1980), American actor
- Bennett Williams (born 1999), American football player
Surname
- Abram Bennett (1898–1985), American psychiatrist
- Adam Bennett (born 1971), Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- Adam Bennett Schiff (born 1960), American politician
- Adelaide George Bennett (1848–1911), American poet and botanist
- Alan Bennett (disambiguation)
- Alden I. Bennett (1807–1862), American physician and politician in Ohio and Wisconsin
- Alex Bennett (disambiguation)
- Alf Bennett (1898–?), English footballer with Nottingham Forest and Port Vale
- Alfred Bennett (disambiguation)
- A. L. Bennett Ambrose L. Bennett (1924–2008), American basketball player
- Amelia Bennett (1839–1921) aka Amelia Horne, Amy Haines, British memoir writer
- Anne McGrew Bennett (1903–1986), American writer and feminist
- April Steiner Bennett (born 1980), American pole vaulter
- Arekia Bennett, American voting rights activist
- Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), English novelist
- Anthony Bennett (disambiguation)
- Barry Bennett (1955–2019), American football player
- Beck Bennett (born 1984), American comedian and actor
- Belva Ann Bennett (1830–1917), American attorney, politician, educator, and author
- Bert Bennett (1889/1890–1968), English footballer
- Beverly Lynn Bennett (born 1967), American chef
- Bill Bennett (William Richards Bennett 1932–2015), premier of British Columbia
- Bob Bennett
- Brian Bennett (born 1940), English musician and drummer
- Brooke Bennett (born 1980), American swimmer
- Bryan Bennett (born 1992), American football quarterback
- Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix; 1906–2007), American actor and Olympian
- Carl Bennett (1915–2013), American basketball manager and coach
- Carol Bennett (born 1954), American painter and glass artist
- Carolyn Bennett, PC MP (born 1950), Canadian physician and politician
- Carolyn Bennett (comedian) (born 1962), Canadian comedian
- Chance the Rapper (Chancellor Jonathan Bennett), American rapper
- Charles Bennett (disambiguation)
- Chris Bennett (disambiguation)
- Chloe Bennet (born 1992), American singer and actress
- Christiana Bennett, American ballet dancer
- Chuck Bennett (1907–1973), American football player and coach
- Claire-Louise Bennett (fl. 2015), Irish writer
- Clarence Edmund Bennett (1803–1932), American Army officer
- Clay Bennett (disambiguation)
- Cole Bennett (born 1996), American videographer and business executive
- Colin Bennett (disambiguation)
- Constance Bennett (1904–1965), American actress
- Cornelius Bennett (born 1965), American football player
- Crystal Bennett (1918–1987), British archaeologist
- D. M. Bennett (1818–1882), American Shaker and freethinker
- Darren Bennett (disambiguation)
- David Bennett (disambiguation)
- Dayvon Bennett (1994–2020), American rapper known as King Von
- DeAnna Bennett (born 1984), American mixed martial artist
- Deborah J. Bennett (born 1950), American mathematician
- Dick Bennett (born 1943), American basketball coach
- Don Bennett (1910–1986), leader of the Pathfinder force, RAF, World War II
- Don Bennett (disambiguation)
- Drew Bennett (born 1978), American football player
- Dwight Henry Bennett (1917–2002), American aeronautical engineer
- Edgar Bennett (born 1969), American football coach and running back
- Edwin Keppel Bennett (1887–1958), English academic
- Edward Bennett (disambiguation)
- Elmer Bennett (born 1970), American professional basketball player
- Emerson Bennett (1822–1905), American author
- Eric Bennett (disambiguation)
- Estelle Bennett (1941–2009), American singer (The Ronettes)
- Finn Bennett (born 1999), British-Irish actor
- Fleur Bennett, English actress
- Forrest Bennett, American politician
- Fran Bennett (1937–2021), American actress
- Frank Bennett (disambiguation)
- Fred Bennett (footballer) (1906–1990), English footballer
- Gabriel Bennett (1817–1895), Australian auctioneer of Bennett & Fisher
- Gareth Bennett (disambiguation)
- Gary Bennett (disambiguation)
- George Bennett (disambiguation)
- Gloria Bennett (born 1962), American singer, songwriter, record producer and musician
- Gordon Bennett (disambiguation)
- Granville Bennett (Alabama politician), American farmer and state legislator in Alabama
- Granville G. Bennett (1833–1910), American lawyer and politician
- H. H. Bennett (Henry Hamilton Bennett, 1843–1908), photographer of the Wisconsin Dells
- Haley Bennett (born 1988), American singer and actress
- Hamish Bennett, New Zealand cricketer
- Hamish Bennett (director), New Zealand filmmaker
- Harry Bennett (disambiguation)
- Harve Bennett (1930–2015), American television and film producer
- Henry Bennett (disambiguation)
- Herman Bennett (cricketer) (born 1939), Jamaican cricketer
- Herman Bennett (scholar), American scholar
- Hugh Hammond Bennett (1881–1960), founder of the Soil Conservation Service
- Hywel Bennett (1944–2017), Welsh actor
- Jakorian Bennett (born 2000), American football player
- J. A. W. Bennett (1911–1981), New Zealand scholar of Middle English literature
- James Bennett (disambiguation), including James, Jimmy, Jimmie, or Jim Bennett
- Jeff Bennett (disambiguation)
- Jill Bennett (disambiguation)
- Joan Bennett (1910–1990), American stage, film and television actress
- Joe Bennett (artist) (born 1968), Brazilian comic book artist
- John Bennett (disambiguation)
- Jonathan Bennett (disambiguation)
- Joseph Bennett (disambiguation)
- Josephine Bennett (1880–1961), American suffragist and activist
- Josie Bennett (1903–1985), American rodeo professional
- Justin Bennett (born 1973), drummer and producer
- Karen Bennett (born 1989), British rower
- Keith Bennett (disambiguation)
- Ken Bennett (born 1959), American politician
- Kyle Bennett (disambiguation)
- Laura Bennett (born 1963), American architect and fashion designer
- Lauren Bennett (born 1989), English female singer, dancer, and model
- Lawrence E. Bennett (1923–2016), American politician
- Lee Ann Bennett, US air force general
- Lennie Bennett (1938–2009), English comedian and game show host
- Leo Bennett (1914–1971), British first-class cricketer
- Lerone Bennett Jr. (1928–2018), American journalist and writer
- Les Bennett (1918–1999) Footballer for Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United
- Lilian Bennett (1922–2013), British businesswoman
- Linda L. M. Bennett (born 1952), American administrator and political scientist
- Liz Bennett, American politician; first openly LGBT woman in the Iowa House of Representatives
- Lorna Bennett (born 1977), Jamaican reggae singer
- Louis Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Louise Bennett-Coverley (1919–2006), Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator
- Lyman Bennett (1801–1877), garment manufacturer
- Lynda Bennett (born 1954), New Zealand lawn bowler
- Manu Bennett (born 1969), Australian actor
- Maria Kanellis-Bennett (Mary Louis Kanellis-Bennett, born 1982), American wrestler
- Mark Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Mark J. Bennett (born 1953), Judge of the United States Court of Appeals
- Marshall Bennett (1915–2018), American real estate developer
- Martellus Demond Bennett (born 1987), American football tight end and children's author
- Martyn Bennett (1971–2005), Canadian-Scottish musician
- Matt Bennett (born 1991), American actor
- Matthew Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Max Bennett (actor) (born 1984), English actor
- Max Bennett (ice hockey) (1912–1972), ice hockey player
- Max Bennett (musician) (1928–2018), American jazz bassist and session musician
- Max Bennett (scientist) (born 1939), Australian neuroscientist
- Michael Bennett (disambiguation)
- Michèle Bennett (born 1950), wife of former Haitian president Jean-Claude Duvalier
- Michele Bennett (film producer), Australian film producer
- Mike Bennett (wrestler) (born 1985), American professional wrestler
- Milton Bennett, American sociologist
- Naftali Bennett (born 1972), Israeli politician; 13th Prime Minister of Israel
- Natalie Bennett (born 1966), politician, Leader of the Green Party of England & Wales
- Nathan Bennett (born 1984), Australian Rugby League player
- Nicholas Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Nigel Bennett (born 1949), English actor
- Nigel Harvie Bennett (1913–2008), English cricketer
- Owen Bennett (born 1985), British journalist
- Paul Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Paul Stuart-Bennett, British lightweight rower
- Paula Bennett (born 1969), New Zealand politician
- Paris Bennett (born 1988), American singer
- Pauline Bennett (born 1964), British DJ, dance teacher, and rapper
- Peggy Bennett (born 1958), American politician from Minnesota
- Percy Bennett (1869–1936), Wales rugby union player
- Pete Bennett (born 1982), winner of series 7 of Big Brother UK
- Phillip R. Bennett (born 1948), CEO of Refco
- R. B. Bennett (Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, 1870–1947), Prime Minister of Canada
- Rainey Bennett (1907–1998), American artist and illustrator
- Ralph Bennett (1923–2015), English transport administrator
- Rayshawn Bennett (born 1991), American rapper and singer known professionally as YFN Lucci
- Richard Bennett (governor) (1608–1675), British colonial governor of Virginia
- Richard Bennett (guitarist) (born 1951), American guitarist and record producer
- Richard Rodney Bennett (1936–2012), English composer
- Rick Bennett (politician) (born 1963), American politician
- Robert Russell Bennett (1894–1981), American composer and arranger
- Rodney D. Bennett (born 1966), American university president
- Roger Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Ronan Bennett (born 1956), Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter
- Roy Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Ruth L. Bennett (1866–1947), American social reformer
- Ryan Bennett (footballer) (born 1990), English footballer
- Sam Bennett (disambiguation), multiple people
- Samm Bennett, American musician
- Sacha Bennett (born 1971), English film director, writer, producer
- Sandy Bennett (Sandra Kaye Bennett born 1972), aka Sandy Hitchcock, New Zealand hockey player
- Sara Bennett, British visual effects artist
- Scott Bennett (disambiguation)
- Sonja Bennett, Canadian actress, screenwriter
- Stella Bennett, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- Stetson Bennett (born 1998), American football player
- Stu Bennett (born 1980), English wrestler, known as Wade Barrett
- Susan Bennett (born 1949), American voice artist; voice of Apple's "Siri"
- Syd Bennett (born 1992), American singer-songwriter, record producer
- Taylor Bennett (rapper) (born 1996), American rapper
- Ted Bennett (born 1940), American politician
- Thomas Bennett Jr. (1781–1865), Governor of South Carolina
- Thomas Jewell Bennett (1852–1925) British politician and journalist with The Times of India
- Thomas M. Bennett (born 1956), American politician (Illinois House of Representatives)
- Thomas Westropp Bennett (1867–1962), Irish politician, magistrate and public figure
- Todd Bennett (1962–2013), English sprinter
- Tony Bennett (disambiguation)
- Tracie Bennett (born 1961), English stage and television actress
- Veronica Yvette Bennett (1943–2022), American singer
- Vincent Bennett (born 1982), singer of The Acacia Strain
- W. A. C. Bennett (William Andrew Cecil Bennett 1900–1979), Premier of British Columbia
- Wayne Bennett (disambiguation)
- Wilda Bennett (1894–1967), American actress
- William Bennett (disambiguation)