Besant Surname
Approximately 1,203 people bear this surname
Besant Surname Definition:
This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Byzantium.'
'To one he gave fyve talentis, or besauntis,' 1380, Wyclif (Matt); v. Historical English Dictionary for various instances.
'A bisaunt, bezant, or bizantine was an old coin both in gold and silver, and so called from having been minted at Byzantium.
Read More About This SurnameBesant Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 471 | 1:118,297 | 12,035 |
| United States | 249 | 1:1,455,658 | 99,719 |
| Germany | 169 | 1:476,364 | 41,414 |
| Canada | 100 | 1:368,456 | 33,054 |
| Australia | 92 | 1:293,432 | 25,879 |
| India | 29 | 1:26,450,530 | 346,896 |
| New Zealand | 26 | 1:174,166 | 18,836 |
| Scotland | 19 | 1:281,780 | 13,396 |
| France | 12 | 1:5,535,227 | 269,324 |
| Jamaica | 11 | 1:260,904 | 6,695 |
| Belgium | 7 | 1:1,642,378 | 98,400 |
| Jersey | 5 | 1:19,840 | 3,614 |
| Wales | 3 | 1:1,031,511 | 34,732 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 1:1,845,036 | 20,648 |
| Greece | 1 | 1:11,079,790 | 145,225 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1:15,438,240 | 133,260 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1:70,638,345 | 1,175,915 |
| Tanzania | 1 | 1:52,941,613 | 123,716 |
| Spain | 1 | 1:46,752,036 | 156,870 |
| South Africa | 1 | 1:54,177,704 | 343,732 |
| Russia | 1 | 1:144,123,056 | 881,408 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1:16,887,176 | 156,465 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 1:132,249,194 | 811,426 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 2 | 1:2,214,933 | 33,683 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 269 | 1:90,615 | 9,390 |
| Wales | 13 | 1:120,647 | 5,000 |
| Scotland | 2 | 1:1,871,608 | 27,884 |
| Guernsey | 1 | 1:32,656 | 2,283 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 64 | 1:784,667 | 49,209 |
Besant (146) may also be a first name.
Besant Surname Meaning
From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history
This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Byzantium.'
'To one he gave fyve talentis, or besauntis,' 1380, Wyclif (Matt); v. Historical English Dictionary for various instances.
'A bisaunt, bezant, or bizantine was an old coin both in gold and silver, and so called from having been minted at Byzantium. The silver bezant passed current for as. or thereabouts' (Pipe Rolls: Pipe Roll Soc).
As almost every other coin has its representative in our nomenclature so may this. More probably, however, like Turk and Saracen, it is local, denoting an immigrant from Byzantium.
Robert Besant, sheriff of London, 1194: Chronicles of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London, 1188-1274.
1748. Married — John Beszant and Brittama Freeman: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.
1752. — Henry Hicks and Elizabeth Bessant: ibid.
1776. Married —Robert Besant and Sarah Myers: St. George, Hanover Square.
(French-Latin-Greek) belonging to Byzantium (Constantinople). [Latin Byzantium, Greek Bυζάντιον]
From from the French, Baisant; a Huguenot name.
Besant Demographics
Besant Political Affiliation
in United States
United States
Average
Besant Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Besant Come From? nationality or country of origin
Besant (Hindi: बॅसन्त, Marathi: बेसंट) is borne by more people in England than any other country or territory. It may also be found in the variant forms:. Click here for other potential spellings of this last name.
How Common Is The Last Name Besant? popularity and diffusion
The last name is the 312,624th most frequently held surname worldwide, borne by around 1 in 6,057,810 people. The last name Besant occurs predominantly in Europe, where 57 percent of Besant are found; 41 percent are found in Northern Europe and 41 percent are found in British Isles. It is also the 763,528th most frequent forename globally, held by 146 people.
The surname Besant is most commonly held in England, where it is carried by 471 people, or 1 in 118,297. In England Besant is most frequent in: Greater London, where 18 percent live, Dorset, where 10 percent live and Hampshire, where 9 percent live. Not including England Besant occurs in 22 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 21 percent live and Germany, where 14 percent live.
Besant Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The frequency of Besant has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Besant last name expanded 175 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 389 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 950 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it fell 77 percent between 1881 and 2014.
Besant Last Name Statistics demography
The religious devotion of those carrying the surname is predominantly Anglican (100%) in Ireland.
In The United States those holding the Besant last name are 21.09% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 67.86% registered to vote for the political party.
The amount Besant earn in different countries varies notably. In United States they earn 5.64% less than the national average, earning $40,717 USD per year and in Canada they earn 15.96% more than the national average, earning $57,612 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
Besant Name Transliterations
| Transliteration | ICU Latin | Percentage of Incidence |
|---|---|---|
| Besant in the Hindi language | ||
| बॅसन्त | besanta | - |
| Besant in the Marathi language | ||
| बेसंट | besanta | 40 |
| बेसन्ट | besanta | 40 |
| बेसंत | besanta | 20 |
Search for Another Surname
The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data
Footnotes
- Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
- Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
- Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
- Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
- Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
- Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
- Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Besant
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis