An English surname, Benton comes from the Old English term of ‘beonet‘ which refers to a settlement where bent or bear grass grows. The spelling variations for Benton include Bentown and Bentoun. In England the Benton surname began in Northumberland. The name spread into Yorkshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and into the city of London. In Scotland the Benton family name is concentrated in Aberdeenshire, Lanarkshire and Inverness-shire counties. Within the United States the Benton surname originated in New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana. Famous: Barbi Benton (model and actress), Stanley ‘Rabbit’ Benton (professional baseball player), Thomas Hart Benton (artist), Walter Benton (poet), Jim Benton (professional football player), Jerome Benton (musician), Robert Benton (movie film director), Mark Benton (English comic actor) and Nicolas F. Benton (journalist and founder of the Falls Church News-Press in VA).