How to say it
BENT · ley
ˈbɛnt.li
Masculine
Bentley
Bent-grass meadow
What it means
Old English place name from beonet ('bent-grass') + lēah ('meadow'). The British luxury-car brand Bentley (founded 1919 by W.O. Bentley) is the modern anchor.
Bentley is an English place name and surname from the Old English beonet ('bent-grass, a wild grass') + lēah ('clearing, meadow'). Multiple villages in England carry the name. The Bentley automobile company was founded by Walter Owen Bentley in 1919 and became one of Britain's iconic luxury-car brands. As a first name Bentley surged in the US after Teen Mom's Maci Bookout named her son Bentley (2008); it peaked in the early 2010s and is now sliding. The luxury-brand association cuts both ways, some families embrace it, others find it heavy. It entered the US top 100 in 2011.
How to spell Bentley
The standard spelling is Bentley. Common variants include Bently, but Bentley is the most widely used form.
Popularity over time
peaked at #75 in 2011, currently #215 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–2025. Reviewed July 2026. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
The Bentley luxury-car brand is the dominant English-language anchor; some parents lean into the aspirational coding, others find it on-the-nose.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- W.O. Bentley British engineer and founder of Bentley Motors
Spelling variants
- Bently
Names with the same feeling
See Bentley from another angle
By meaning
By style
Common questions
- What does the name Bentley mean?
- Old English place name from beonet ('bent-grass') + lēah ('meadow'). The British luxury-car brand Bentley (founded 1919 by W.O. Bentley) is the modern anchor.
- What does Bentley mean in Old English?
- In Old English, Bentley means "Bent-grass meadow." Bentley is an English place name and surname from the Old English beonet ('bent-grass, a wild grass') + lēah ('clearing, meadow'). Multiple villages in England carry the name. The Bentley automobile company was founded by Walter Owen Bentley in 1919 and became one of Britain's iconic luxury-car brands. As a first name Bentley surged in the US after Teen Mom's Maci Bookout named her son Bentley (2008); it peaked in the early 2010s and is now sliding. The luxury-brand association cuts both ways, some families embrace it, others find it heavy. It entered the US top 100 in 2011.
- How do you pronounce Bentley?
- Bentley is pronounced ˈbɛnt.li. Say it as BENT-ley, with the stress on the "bent" syllable.
- How do you spell Bentley?
- The standard spelling is Bentley. Common spelling variants include Bently.
- Is Bentley a boy or girl name?
- Bentley is traditionally a masculine name.
- How popular is the name Bentley?
- Bentley ranked #215 in the U.S. in 2025, according to Social Security Administration data.