Benno
About Benno
Benno is a cool name in its own right -- there was a tenth century Saint Benno -- though it is also used as a lively nickname for Benjamin. Saint Benno of Meissen is the patron saint of anglers and weavers and, strangely enough, alliteration.
Benno came to attention in the U.S. via the father and son duo of Benno Schmidt Sr. and Jr. Senior was the venture capitalist who invented the term venture capitalist and Junior was the president of Yale University. Benno is also the appellation of a student character in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
Pronounced BEN-oh.
As of October 2026, Benno ranked #9835 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #2276 in 1916, Nameberry popularity #999.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
World rankings
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Benno on lists
Famous Bennos
- Saint Benno of Meissen
11th century German bishop
- Benno Furmann
German actor
- Benno Moiseiwitsch
Ukrainian,British pianist
- Benno Janssen
American architect
- Benno C. Schmidt Sr. and Jr.
American venture capitalist and educator
- Benno Mohlmann
German footballer
- Benno de Goeij
Dutch trance music producer
- Benno Besson
Swiss actor/director
- Benno Schotz
Scottish artist
- Benno Batali
son of American Celebrity Chef Mario Batali
Benno in pop culture
- Benno "Bambi" Hirschberger
Character on German Soap Opera "Unter Uns"
- Benno Gilbert
character in an episode of Law and Order SVU