The Spanish surname Benavides is a patronymic name from the common medieval personal name Ben Avid, of Arabic origin, from ibn Abd meaning “son of the servant (of God).” The name is first recorded in the northern Spanish province of Asturias in the 16th Century. The name is first recorded in the New World in 1564 when Francisco de Benavides sailed to the Dominican Republic. Today there are approximately 18,000 bearers of the name Benavides living in the United States.