# Benjamin (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/benjamin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “son of the right/south”, “son of days”, “days”, “son of days (i.e. old age)”, “son of the days”, “son of the right hand” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɛnd͡ʒəmɪn/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Benno, Benji, Benjy, Benjie, Bennie |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 829,312 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 826,830 / 2,482 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 91,220, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 5,572 |
| 2012 | 15 | 7,870 |
| 2013 | 19 | 6,511 |
| 2014 | 17 | 7,037 |
| 2015 | 18 | 6,764 |
| 2016 | 12 | 8,981 |
| 2017 | 9 | 10,829 |
| 2018 | 20 | 6,050 |
| 2019 | 14 | 7,801 |
| 2020 | 10 | 9,662 |
| 2021 | 12 | 8,558 |
| 2022 | 10 | 9,798 |
| 2023 | 8 | 11,349 |
| 2024 | 6 | 13,741 |
| 2025 | 8 | 11,099 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13,082 | 19 |
| 2012 | 12,835 | 16 |
| 2013 | 13,515 | 14 |
| 2014 | 13,830 | 12 |
| 2015 | 13,732 | 10 |
| 2016 | 14,686 | 6 |
| 2017 | 13,858 | 6 |
| 2018 | 13,488 | 6 |
| 2019 | 13,044 | 7 |
| 2020 | 12,264 | 7 |
| 2021 | 11,895 | 7 |
| 2022 | 10,912 | 9 |
| 2023 | 10,224 | 11 |
| 2024 | 9,865 | 11 |
| 2025 | 9,762 | 11 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,789 | 25 |
| 2012 | 2,564 | 32 |
| 2013 | 2,532 | 30 |
| 2014 | 2,490 | 28 |
| 2015 | 2,328 | 30 |
| 2016 | 2,153 | 33 |
| 2017 | 1,927 | 33 |
| 2018 | 1,743 | 35 |
| 2019 | 1,701 | 33 |
| 2020 | 1,426 | 40 |
| 2021 | 1,423 | 42 |
| 2022 | 1,117 | 51 |
| 2023 | 1,057 | 53 |
| 2024 | 841 | 61 |
| 2025 | 808 | 61 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: بِنْيَامِين, بَنْيَامِين
- Armenian: Բենիամին
- Bulgarian: Бе́нджамин, Вениами́н
- Catalan: Benjamí
- Chinese: 本傑明 /本杰明
- Czech: Benjamín
- Danish: Benjamin
- Esperanto: Benjameno
- Finnish: Benjamin, Penjami
- French: Benjamin
- German: Benjamin
- Greek: Βενιαμίν, Βενιαμίνος
- Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין
- Hindi: बेंजामिन
- Hungarian: Benjámin
- Icelandic: Benjamín
- Italian: Beniamino
- Japanese: ベンジャミン
- Korean: 베냐민, 벤자민
- Latin: Benjamin, Beniamin

## People named Benjamin

- Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)
- Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman (1804–1881)
- Benjamin Constant, French-Swiss politician, writer on politics and religion (1767-2011)
- Benjamin Britten, English composer, conductor, and pianist (1913-1976)
- Benjamin Pavard, French footballer (born 1996)
- Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author of Baby and Child Care (1903-1998)
- Benjamin List, German chemist (1968-)
- Benjamin Lee Whorf, American linguist (1897–1941)
- Benjamin Mendy, French footballer (born 1994)
- Benjamin Bratt, American actor (born 1963)
- Benjamin Thompson, American-born British physicist and inventor (1753–1814)
- Benjamin Graham, American economist and investor (1894-1976)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.