Bear or brave as a bear
Benno is a diminutive form of several Germanic names beginning with the element 'bern', most notably Bernhard. It has long been used as a standalone name in Germany and Switzerland. In some contexts, it is also associated with the Latin name Benedictus, meaning blessed.
Less common today
Benno isn't in the latest US Top 1000. It last peaked at #6,701 in 2015.
German film and television actor
11th-century German bishop and patron saint of Munich
Renowned Ukrainian-born British concert pianist
Influential German-American Assyriologist
US births per 5-year period, 1990–present (SSA data).
