The name is derived from the name Beneš (hypocoristic form of a Czech given name beginning with Ben-, e.g. Benedikt ‘Benedict’, Benjamin ‘Benjamin’, possibly also Benno ‘Ben’) and refers to the connection with the father or another ancestor by that name. It may rarely also be derived from the dialectal common noun beneš meaning ‘small cake, kind of a pie’ and refer to an occupation (baker) or a characteristic feature (e.g. favourite meal).