Benjamin

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

Boy's name · #11 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Benjamin was #21 in 1889, slipped to #155 by 1960, climbed back to #6 by 2016, and currently stands at #11. About 827,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Benjamin's short forms are Ben, Bennie, Benji, Benno, and Benjy. Popular twin pairings with Benjamin include Alexander, Samuel, and William for boys, and Abigail for a girl.

Around the world: #1 in Argentina (2024) · #9 in Canada (2024) · #17 in Finland (other-lang.) (2025) · #28 in New Zealand (2025) · #30 in Netherlands (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Benjamins

Benjamin Franklin — American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)
Benjamin Netanyahu — Prime Minister of Israel (born 1949), (1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–present)
Benjamin Disraeli — British statesman (1804–1881)
Benjamin Harrison — President of the United States, 1889-1893 (1833–1901)
Benjamin Constant — French-Swiss politician, writer on politics and religion (1767-1830)

In stories & tradition

Benjamin (Spider-Man) — Spider-Man · The Amazing Spider-Man
Benjamin — Genesis 35 · Genesis 42
Benjamin (Thing) — Fantastic Four

What Benjamins become

Among 6,888 notable people named Benjamin:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.7× more often than among typical names — e.g. Benjamin N. Cardozo, United States federal judge (1870-1938).

Similar names: Jack · Bennett · Levi · Samuel · Isaac · Elias

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

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