Contents [hide]

Bently History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Bently History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The origins of the Bently name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in one of the many places called Bentley. These included parishes in the counties of Suffolk, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Derby, and Essex, as well as a myriad of small hamlets throughout the counties of England. The surname is derived from Benet-legh which literally means the field of Benedict. Alternatively the name could have come from "Bentley (clearing overgrown with bent grass.)" 1

Early Origins of the Bently family

The surname Bently was first found in various parishes throughout England including Suffolk, Hampshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, and Essex. 2

The Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire listed William de Benetega in 1176 and William de Benteley was later listed in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire in 1316-1317, 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 including some of the first mentions of the family: John de Bentelege, Derbyshire; and Roger de Benetlye, Yorkshire.

Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Alicia de Benteley; and Ricardus de Benteley, "carpentar." 2

Early History of the Bently family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bently research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1646, 1649, 1652, 1662, 1692, 1693, 1742 and 1896 are included under the topic Early Bently History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bently Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Bently were recorded, including Bentley, Bentli, Bentlie, Bently and others.

Early Notables of the Bently family

Distinguished members of the family include Richard Bentley (1662-1742), an English theologian, classical scholar and critic. He was the son of Thomas Bentley by his second wife, Sarah Willie, and was born on 27 Jan. 1662 at Oulton, in the parish of Rothwell, near Wakefield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. "The Bentleys were yeomen of the richer sort. They had been somewhat impoverished by the civil war, in which Bentley's grandfather had served as a royalist captain...
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bently Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bently Ranking

In the United States, the name Bently is the 18,804^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Bently family to Ireland

Some of the Bently family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bently migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Bently family emigrate to North America:

Bently Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Eliza Bently, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 5
Jo Bently, aged 34, British settler who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Alice" 5
Hen Bently, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 5
Mark Bently, who arrived in Maryland in 1649 5
Jane Bently, who landed in Virginia in 1657 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bently Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Bently, who landed in Virginia in 1705 5
Francis Bently, who landed in Virginia in 1714 5
Jacob Bently, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 5

Bently Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Bently, who landed in New York in 1822 5

Bently migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Bently Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Martin Bently, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Bently (post 1700) +

Donald E. Bently (1924-2012), American entrepreneur and engineer, founder and former owner of Bently Nevada Corporation
L. R. Bently, American politician, Member of Minnesota State House of Representatives 3rd District, 1863 7

The Bently Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Viva ut vivas
Motto Translation: Live that you may live forever.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html