BENTLEY
Bentley is an English locational surname of Anglo‑Saxon provenance, originating from the Old English terms beonet and leah. The word beonet denotes bent grass or meadow, while leah signifies a wood or clearing. Consequently the composite meaning refers to a clearing overgrown with bent grass or a bent‑grass meadow.
In an alternative derivation, the surname is directly taken from the place name Bentley, which itself means “bent‑grass meadow” or “bent‑grass clearing”. Several villages across the English counties of Essex, Suffolk, Hampshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire bear the name Bentley, and the surname would have been adopted by those who moved from such settlements to other areas, thereby identifying themselves by their birthplace.
The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where Derbyshire, Essex and Yorkshire entries are listed as Benedledge, Benetlea and Benedlage. These early spellings are variations of the original form, reflecting the medieval orthographic practices.
The first documented spelling of the family name is William de Benetlega, dated 1176 in the Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire. This record falls within the reign of King Henry XI, who is often referred to as “the Builder of Churches”. Subsequent early references include John Benteley in the 1388 Fine Court Rolls of Surrey, and Edward Bentley in the Oxford University Register of 1580.
Locational surnames such as Bentley were typically adopted by local landowners or by individuals who had fled their native villages in search of employment. In the absence of a hereditary surname system, these names served to distinguish a person by the place from which they originated.
Typical given names associated with the Bentley surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Christine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Julie
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Bentley in...
Braille
⠃⠑⠝⠞⠇⠑⠽
Morse
-....-.-.-...-.--
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Bentley are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Custard Cream.
There are approximately 21,575 people named Bentley in the UK. That makes it the 400th most common surname in Britain. Around 331 in a million people in Britain are named Bentley.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Bentley
- Samantha Bentley - Pornographic actress
- David Bentley - Football player
- Derek Bentley - Hanged for the murder of a police officer (1933 to 1953)
- Wes Bentley - American actor
- W. O. Bentley - Automotive engineer (1888 to 1971)
- Jim Bentley - Football player and manager
- Daniel Bentley - Football player
- John Bentley - Rugby union and rugby league football player
- Marcus Bentley - Actor
- Edmund Clerihew Bentley - Writer (1875 to 1956)
- Roy Bentley - Football player (1924 to 2018)
- John Bentley - 1916–2009; British film actor (1916 to 2009)
- Jack Bentley - Musician (1913 to 1994)
- Phyllis Bentley - Writer (1894 to 1977)
- Paul Bentley -
- John Bentley - Bass guitarist
- Nicolas Bentley - Author, illustrator (1907 to 1978)
- Richard Bentley - Classical scholar and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (1662 to 1742)
- Eric Bentley - American playwright
- Phil Bentley - Businessman
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.