Bently
Bently was the 5060th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 19 babies. Its best year was 2011, when it ranked 575th with 436 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 3,789 places. More babies were named Bently in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Bentley) bent-grass clearing (place name) · Old English
- Rank in 2025
- #5,060 boys, down 2,328 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 19boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2011436 babies
- Total since 1880
- 2,524babies recorded
What does the name Bently mean?
Bently is a spelling of Bentley, pronounced the same way, so it shares Bentley's meaning and origin.
Bentley is an English place name and surname. Wiktionary derives it from Old English Beonetleah, from beonet, 'bent grass', a stiff coarse grass, and leah, 'meadow, clearing'. Several English villages carry the name. It is also widely known as the name of the British luxury car brand, founded by W. O. Bentley in 1919, as Wikipedia describes. As a boy's first name it is a recent American transfer from the surname.
beonet (Old English, “bent grass”)lēah (Old English, “meadow, clearing”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Bently, Bentlee.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Bentley', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'bentgrass', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Bentley', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Bently popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 81 since 2006.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,060 | 19 |
| 2020 | #2,732 | 45 |
| 2010 | #667 | 359 |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | #3,693 | 6 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Bently, counting every spelling?
Bently is a spelling of Bentley, a name family that ranked #222 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #5,060 for Bently on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,762 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bentley | 1,649 | #215 | 10,072 |
| Bentlee | 94 | #1,730 | 711 |
| Bently | 19 | #5,060 | 167 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Bently?
19 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Bently (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Bently born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 439 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Bently.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Bently?
About 2,400 people born in the US named Bently are alive today, with a median age of 14; half are between 11 and 15. That makes Bently mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Bently by state
How common Bently was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. In 48 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Bently: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Bently, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Bently
What does Bently mean?
Bently is a spelling of Bentley, which means “bent-grass clearing (place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Bently?
Bently was the 5060th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 19 babies. Its best year was 2011, when it ranked 575th with 436 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 3,789 places. More babies were named Bently in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Bently a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Bently in the US.
Where is Bently most popular?
In 2021–2025, Bently was most common in Missouri (0.04 per 1,000 boys), followed by Texas and California.