Given name & surname
Bena
“resembling a pheasant”
Bena is used as a given name and a surname. One Native American interpretation is “resembling a pheasant.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Native American interpretation is “resembling a pheasant.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Native American.
How it developed
In English usage, Bena as a surname is a diminutive of Benedikt.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bena through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 642
- 0 boys · 642 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 16 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #12,113 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,113 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 479 as a first name in 2020; 595 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bena’s family of names
In English usage, Bena as a surname is a diminutive of Benedikt. Bena has a related form in Benna. Bena has a related form in Benah.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bena has relatives in 3 languages.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Bena, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Una
“one who is pure; chaste”
>99% girls
Ola
“one who is precious” · “giver of life: well-being”
>99% girls
Meda
“a prophetess”
>99% girls
Oneida
“our longawaited daughter”
>99% girls
Lovella
“having a soft spirit”
>99% girls
Misae
“born beneath the white sun” · “born beneath the white-hot sun”
>99% girls
Waneta
“one who changes; a shapeshifter”
>99% girls
Alameda
“from the cottonwood grove” · “from the poplar tree”
>99% girls