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The Bensen surname is a patronymic, created from the Medieval given name Benne, which comes from the Latin word "benedictus," which means "blessed." Some instances of the surname may also be derived from the name of the village of Benson (Benington) in Oxfordshire (Bennesingtun in Old English). 1 2
While the parish dates back to ancient Roman and Saxon times, it was listed as Baenesington c. 900. By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the village was known as Besintone. 3 Literally, the place name means "estate associated with a man called Benesa," from the Old English personal name + "ing" + "tun." 4
The surname Bensen was first found in Oxfordshire, where a Peter de Bensinton was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1208. 5
Henry de Benson was recorded in that same county in Oseney, in 1269. A family of the name was established from ancient times in the vicinity of Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire. The Gildea, Gildee and other spellings were adopted in Ireland and are explained in more detail later.
Some of the family branched in Yorkshire in the early years as Germanus Benson was listed as holding lands there in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bensen research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1326, 1332, 1393, 1549, 1559, 1570, 1611, 1613, 1617, 1640, 1644, 1667, 1672, 1676, 1682, 1691, 1692, 1699, 1711, 1713, 1731, 1754, 1762, 1829, 1883, 1890 and 1896 are included under the topic Early Bensen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bensen family name include Benson, Benison, Bensone, Bennison, Gildea, Gilday, Gildee, Bennsone, Bennisoun, Bennisone and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include William Benson (died 1549), an English Benedictine, the last Abbot of Westminster and first Dean of Westminster; John Benson (died 1667), a London publisher, best remembered for an important publication of the Sonnets and miscellaneous poems of William Shakespeare in 1640; Robert Benson (1676-1731), English Member of Parliament, made Chancellor of the Exchequer 1711, created Lord Bingley in 1713; and Edward...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bensen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Bensen is the 17,881st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6
Another 123 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bensen surname or a spelling variation of the name include: