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Ben

“Variant of Benjamin — Son of the right hand; or son of days” — Hebrew origin

Boy's name · #843 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Ben has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #43 (1889) · 85,349 babies named Ben all-time · 1 in 5,900 boys born in 2025.

Around the world: #40 in Ireland (2025) · #42 in Switzerland (2024) · #52 in Austria (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 25 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Bens

• Ben Affleck — American film actor, director and screenwriter (born 1972)
• Ben Jonson — English playwright, poet, and actor (1572-1637)
• Ben Kingsley — English actor (born 1943)
• Ben Stiller — American actor and comedian (born 1965)
• Ben Bernanke — American economist (born 1953)

In stories & tradition

• Ben (Thing) — Fantastic Four
• Ben Linus — Lost
• Ben Reilly — Earth-616

What Bens become

Among 5,262 notable people named Ben:

Athletes appear 1.93× more often than among typical names — e.g. Ben Foster, English association football player (born 1983).

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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