Ben

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

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

Few names move less than Ben — on the books since 1880, #843 in 2025, and dependable in between. Roughly 85,000 boys share it. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Its center of gravity has moved: strongest in the South in the 1940s and 1950s, strongest in the Northeast today.

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:

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

Similar names: Benny · Sam · Beck · Ira · Reuben · Jon

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

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