Benjamin Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Boy Names Like Benjamin

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Benjamin Name Meaning

Whether being called Benjamin, Ben, Benny or Benji, there is little doubt in the popularity of the name over the years. Benjamin has been a staple on the the Social Security Administration’s most popular baby names chart, hovering under the radar before cracking the top ten for the first time in 2016.

While Benjamin is a reliable fixture in the SSA’s rankings, the name has a lineage reaching all the way back to ancient times. He originated in Hebrew and means “son of my right hand,” the perfect name for any parents’ little buddy.

Benjamin has been a leader throughout history with Benjamin Franklin and President Benjamin Harrison bearing the name along with English politician Benjamin Disraeli. He’s also a biblical choice, used in the Old Testament as Jacob’s youngest son and the founder of a Hebrew tribe.

For parents, Benjamin is trustworthy and reliably stylish. He’s a solid and respected boy’s name that does not have a history of overuse like James or John. With multiple nicknames available, Benjamin is also a flexible choice, allowing for both informal and formal usage while remaining trendy and traditional, all at the same time. Other Ben– names include Bennett, Bentley, and Benson.

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Benjamin Name Popularity

How popular is the name Benjamin? Here’s everything we know.

Chart
Raw Data
By State

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	71	497	0.1412%
1911	64	645	0.1732%
1912	67	1,245	0.2469%
1913	70	1,451	0.2559%
1914	70	1,802	0.2586%
1915	71	2,231	0.2456%
1916	79	2,169	0.2245%
1917	76	2,372	0.2371%
1918	78	2,426	0.226%
1919	79	2,272	0.217%
1920	83	2,304	0.2072%
1921	81	2,406	0.2101%
1922	82	2,369	0.2126%
1923	86	2,306	0.2059%
1924	89	2,206	0.19%
1925	93	2,054	0.1817%
1926	98	1,881	0.171%
1927	101	1,904	0.172%
1928	105	1,776	0.166%
1929	107	1,676	0.1618%
1930	114	1,580	0.1513%
1931	112	1,546	0.1566%
1932	117	1,512	0.153%
1933	118	1,401	0.1504%
1934	117	1,456	0.1506%
1935	123	1,389	0.1429%
1936	123	1,324	0.1374%
1937	119	1,396	0.1417%
1938	127	1,386	0.1354%
1939	124	1,403	0.1379%
1940	128	1,424	0.134%
1941	125	1,549	0.1376%
1942	130	1,659	0.1314%
1943	130	1,694	0.1298%
1944	128	1,615	0.1303%
1945	140	1,545	0.1267%
1946	146	1,644	0.1114%
1947	144	1,908	0.1143%
1948	141	1,942	0.1217%
1949	133	2,010	0.125%
1950	123	2,177	0.1352%
1951	123	2,332	0.1375%
1952	122	2,432	0.1393%
1953	128	2,410	0.1362%
1954	132	2,440	0.1335%
1955	132	2,438	0.1325%
1956	130	2,458	0.1301%
1957	138	2,481	0.1289%
1958	151	2,231	0.118%
1959	149	2,327	0.1225%
1960	155	2,230	0.1177%
1961	146	2,385	0.1263%
1962	140	2,501	0.1362%
1963	144	2,337	0.1302%
1964	131	2,494	0.1417%
1965	133	2,327	0.1423%
1966	129	2,361	0.1512%
1967	119	2,495	0.1644%
1968	99	3,016	0.2009%
1969	91	3,373	0.2189%
1970	81	3,930	0.247%
1971	69	4,251	0.2829%
1972	64	4,504	0.3307%
1973	55	5,235	0.4038%
1974	46	7,189	0.5531%
1975	36	9,552	0.7433%
1976	32	10,680	0.8287%
1977	29	12,112	0.8986%
1978	34	11,415	0.849%
1979	33	12,520	0.8879%
1980	32	13,635	0.9325%
1981	32	14,354	0.9765%
1982	33	13,818	0.9247%
1983	32	13,287	0.9004%
1984	30	13,263	0.8916%
1985	31	13,428	0.8847%
1986	30	13,789	0.9135%
1987	28	14,880	0.9751%
1988	30	15,185	0.9744%
1989	29	15,730	0.9748%
1990	33	14,621	0.8821%
1991	33	13,872	0.8511%
1992	33	13,452	0.8428%
1993	33	12,679	0.8133%
1994	31	12,787	0.8332%
1995	31	12,715	0.8437%
1996	29	13,777	0.9201%
1997	29	13,266	0.897%
1998	30	13,059	0.8725%
1999	29	13,660	0.9122%
2000	26	14,840	0.9714%
2001	27	14,329	0.951%
2002	27	13,478	0.8994%
2003	24	14,073	0.925%
2004	25	13,818	0.9066%
2005	25	13,572	0.8877%
2006	24	13,755	0.8785%
2007	26	13,275	0.8414%
2008	25	12,946	0.8376%
2009	19	13,111	0.8772%
2010	22	12,428	0.8624%
2011	19	13,061	0.9167%
2012	16	12,821	0.8997%
2013	14	13,494	0.9478%
2014	12	13,790	0.9465%
2015	10	13,692	0.941%
2016	6	14,629	1.0146%
2017	6	13,733	0.9839%
2018	6	13,381	0.9739%
2019	7	12,942	0.956%
2020	7	11,938	0.9379%
2021	7	11,791	0.9646%
2022	9	10,680	0.8096%

Alaska (AK)

Alabama (AL)

Arkansas (AR)

Arizona (AZ)

California (CA)

Colorado (CO)

Connecticut (CT)

District of Columbia (DC)

Delaware (DE)

Florida (FL)

Georgia (GA)

Hawaii (HI)

Iowa (IA)

Idaho (ID)

Illinois (IL)

Indiana (IN)

Kansas (KS)

Kentucky (KY)

Louisiana (LA)

Massachusetts (MA)

Maryland (MD)

Maine (ME)

Michigan (MI)

Minnesota (MN)

Missouri (MO)

Mississippi (MS)

Montana (MT)

North Carolina (NC)

North Dakota (ND)

Nebraska (NE)

New Hampshire (NH)

New Jersey (NJ)

New Mexico (NM)

Nevada (NV)

New York (NY)

Ohio (OH)

Oklahoma (OK)

Oregon (OR)

Pennsylvania (PA)

Rhode Island (RI)

South Carolina (SC)

South Dakota (SD)

Tennessee (TN)

Texas (TX)

Utah (UT)

Virginia (VA)

Vermont (VT)

Washington (WA)

Wisconsin (WI)

West Virginia (WV)

Wyoming (WY)

Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Benjamin

If you like Benjamin, you’ll love these other names like Benjamin.

What names are diminutives of Benjamin?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Benjamin sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Benjamin, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Ben	Son	Hebrew
Benjee	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjey	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benji	Son; son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjie	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjy	Son; son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benn	Son; son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Bennie	Son; blessed; son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Latin
Benno	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benny	Son; son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Bibi	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Jamin	Son of the right hand	Hebrew
Yamin	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Yemin	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew

What names are variants of Benjamin?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Benjamin.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Benejamen	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Beniamino	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjaman	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjamen	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjamino	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjamon	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjiman	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benjimen	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benyamin	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Benyamino	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Binyamin	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Binyamino	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Veniamin	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Venyamin	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew
Yamino	Son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age	Hebrew

What names sound like Benjamin?

If you like how Benjamin sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Benjamin.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Benaiah	God builds	Hebrew
Bendt
Benedict	Blessed	Latin
Benito	Blessed	Latin
Bennett	Blessed	English
Benniton	Little blessed one	American
Benson	Son of Ben
Bentley	Bent grass meadow	English

What names are similar to Benjamin?

Find a name that’s like Benjamin, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Aaron	High mountain	Hebrew
Daniel	God is My Judge	Hebrew
George	Farmer	Greek
Henry	Home ruler	English
Joel	Yahweh is God	Hebrew
John	God is gracious	Hebrew
Joseph	Jehovah will increase	Hebrew

Louis	Famous warrior	French
Lucas	From Lucania	Latin
William	A willing protector	German

Lists With Benjamin

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Benjamin.

Cute Boy Names You’re Sure to Love // 203 names

When it comes to baby boy names, being adorable sure goes a long way as you can see by our list of cute boy names. They don’t carry a heavy association or seriousness that other monikers may bring to the table, leading to happy-go-lucky names ripe with potential.
Dutch Boy Names of Past and Present // 159 names

Honor your roots or find a globetrotting cutie with Dutch boy names. Check out our collection of popular Dutch monikers, their meanings, and more.
Catholic Boy Names With Virtue and Valor // 248 names

Find faith and meaning in Catholic boy names. Browse our collection of these devoted darlings, including papal picks, apostles, and saints.
Basic Boy Names That Stand on Their Own // 115 names

Basic boy names feel like lifelong friends, as they’ve been charted high enough throughout time to earn widespread recognition. Check them out with us.
Legendary Boy Names With Awesome Associations // 225 names

Capture incredible wonder and awe with legendary boy names. These mighty monikers are cut from a different cloth, containing everything from famed associations to majestic meanings. Check out our collection of them.

Siblings of Benjamin

Mamas with kids named Benjamin also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Jack	God is gracious	English
Graham	Gravelled homestead	English
Raquel	Ewe	Spanish
Miguel	Who is Like God?	Spanish
Lucas	From Lucania	Latin
Justice	To deliver what is just	English
Katilin
Donald	Great chief; world mighty	Scottish
Lucille	Of the light	French
Ella	Other goddess	Hebrew
Sofia	Wisdom	Greek
Josephine	God will increase	Hebrew

Share Your Thoughts

53 Comments

Stephanie Sep 19 at 5:59 pm

Nice strong name from the Bible.
Means “son of the right hand”.

Reply

Melissa L Aug 3 at 8:45 am

My husband and I were reading the bible when Benjamin was still in my womb. The verse my husband was reading aloud explained what Benjamin meant: son of the right hand. That moment I knew that’s the name I wanted and my husband agreed and thought the same because the meaning of his name.

Michelle Jun 18 at 6:04 pm

It was important to pick a name that sounded great with his last name

Ellen Feb 13 at 7:44 am

I chose this name because I wanted a long name that sounded almost the same in English and Portuguese.

Benjamin Jun 28 at 10:54 pm

Hummm, that my name my dads love calling me that name so much, I could remember when I was younger he always ask me to seat at is right hand side!

Isabel Mar 29 at 9:16 am

Benjamin is a Biblical name which we loved but its also the only boy name we both could agree on since I’m apparently very picky about boys names.

April Jan 28 at 9:03 am

I chose it because it means right hand of God and I had a dream 12 years ago I would birth a boy. I had that dream on and off over the years and one day he told me as a teenager his name.

Amy Jan 5 at 5:08 pm

It’s his father’s name ?

Diane Sep 7 at 7:22 am

Just loved the classic name, and really liked Ben as a short form.

Stephanie Jul 4 at 6:49 pm

We chose Benjamin because my husband was supposed to be named that, but his mom changed her mind last minute. I like that it is three syllables and has many nicknames you can get from it.

Amanda Jun 18 at 11:23 pm

Good Jewish name, masculine but sweet not overbearing, people know how to spell it and it has a lot of nicknames to choose from

Julia Oct 11 at 6:58 am

I am glad you enjoy this name! :3

Reply

Audra May 27 at 9:27 am

I have had a girls name picked since I was 12, but the boy has always escaped me. During my first trimester, I had a dream I was pregnant with twins and the boys name was Benjamin. I told Daddy about it and he immediately loved it!

Diane Apr 7 at 7:24 am

I just love that it’s a classic strong name and I love the short form Ben.

Jana Mar 28 at 11:43 pm

It is Jewish.has nice meaning.traditional not old fashioned.
Different ways how to call the baby incl.short Ben

Kelly Mar 3 at 7:22 am

It was simply a biblical name that both my husband and I really loved

N.I.D.S Dec 11 at 8:26 am

There are baby girls named Benjamin. It’s true.
Real true.

Fayola Nov 10 at 9:05 pm

My hubby chose the name Benjamin because in the bible, Benjamin was the youngest son (child) of Jacob. Benjamin is our third and final baby!

Kathryn Oct 18 at 10:22 am

Meaning: Son of the right hand.
Nicknames: Benji, Benny Boy, Benjabunny

Olivia Oct 2 at 4:21 am

Hi I actually use this app a lot and in my Class we are learning about Benjamin Zephaniah and I love the meaning even though I’m really picky with names and if I like a name I’m just stuck on it for ages Bye x

Eleanor Sep 12 at 12:28 pm

I love the name. I really like Benji as a nickname. He has an older brother, Levi, I like that they both have I’s at the end but don’t rhyme. His middle name is Hudson (My maiden name.) which I think is so special. We thought about the name Caleb, although I wanted to save it for another kid which paid off! We just named Caleb Ross. Benji is such a good big brother already.

Christine Jun 8 at 7:45 am

This was a name not used yet by our family and we liked it ?

Shaleigh May 22 at 5:06 pm

Daddy wanted that name, it means “son of my right hand”. I’m sure he will indeed be his daddy’s special sidekick.

Mari Mar 15 at 12:47 pm

It’s a beautiful name and it has a beautiful meaning

Monique Ratigan Feb 28 at 6:12 pm

Truth be told, my husband got free reign on our second child’s name, because despite initially hating our firstborns name, he knew how important it was to me that our firstborn be named it. My husband and I really have a hard time agreeing on baby names. He likes super generic names while I don’t want my children sharing the same name as 5 other kids in their grade etc.
We both had liked Benjamin but agreed that we would want the baby to go by Benji if we ever used the name Benjamin. When our second was born and we found out it was a boy my husband suddenly couldn’t decide on that or Gideon. Turns out our firstborn was the one who made the decision a day later when she saw the baby for the first time and called him Benji. My husband was relieved to finally have a name chosen and has officially declared that he never wants sole responsibility for naming one of our children. 🙂

Chelsea Jan 24 at 5:37 am

He’s 2

Savannah Jan 1 at 3:01 pm

We chose the name Benjamin because of the biblical meaning behind it.

Pat Nov 20 at 2:25 am

We named our son Benjamin Benedict. Benjamin because sounds perfect in many languages and Benedict because of my father. We are not americans, so later we realized that both names has the nick name “ Ben“. Do you think it was a bad chose?

Paul Mar 4 at 6:47 am

“Ben-Ben” sounds good actually.

Reply

Carolin Oct 31 at 8:30 am

I was born and raised in Germany, and our son was conceived while visiting the country. I wanted a name that was a little more traditionally German and this one stuck. We love that he’s the only one in our circle with this name, and it has many cute nick name options.

Gabby Sep 10 at 10:24 am

We are raising a bilingual family and the name Benjamin is spelled the same in both spanish and english, but pronounced differently. Perfect for him to identify the different language depending on how his name is being pronounced, yet easy to write someday because the spelling doesn’t change 🙂

Brandy Jul 25 at 11:10 pm

My sons father picked out his name. He’s our second born son! He got to pick the name. I actually wanted to name him Archie Alexander! But fell in love with Benjamin!

Anna Chase Jun 12 at 10:54 am

Benjamin was just one of the few names my husband and I both liked.

Jacy May 14 at 10:17 am

We named our baby after my dad who passed away in 2014.

Veniki South Mar 19 at 6:40 pm

I chose Benjamin because it was a biblical name. I also chose his name because Benjamin was the youngest child of Israel and Benjamin is my last baby.

Leigh Feb 10 at 4:31 am

My 5 year old daughter started calling our unnamed baby “Benji“, which gave my husband the idea of Benjamin! After he mentioned it, I just thought he did actually look like a benjamin so it stuck 🙂

Tristen Feb 7 at 9:16 am

May 4th. May the forth be with you. He is my little ben solo

Callie Feb 1 at 9:59 pm

Name after a state park in Arkansas

Callie Jan 31 at 7:03 pm

Handsome

Callie Jan 31 at 7:02 pm

Beautiful boy

Doeschka Oct 11 at 5:29 am

I chose the name Benjamin because of my faith. It is a biblical name and means son of my right hand. Referring to being a favorite. It was the son of Jacob in the Bible and he loved him very much. This is my first baby but he is my favorite as he is the first.

Felicia Sep 25 at 9:51 am

God give that name to my mother in law..

I like the name Benjamin because it means the right hand of the father…

Katie Aug 31 at 12:20 pm

I have never met a mean Ben in my life and have always loved the name. Then when I looked into the meaning of it, I saw that biblically many families named their youngest son Benjamin. It also means son of the right hand. Our Benjamin is our youngest son, so I thought that was a great fit. I just think it’s a great name!

Ruth Margaret Haberkorn Aug 1 at 1:27 pm

Of course my husband’s name is one of the popular names. Whereas mine hasn’t been in favor since the 1930’s. I belong to different generation lol.

Faith Jul 24 at 5:08 pm

My husband named him just have always loved the name Benjamin:)

Rebecca Jun 14 at 10:53 pm

He is our third and, we thought, our last. Benjamin is the name of the youngest son of the tribes of Israel, so we thought it appropriate for our youngest. We don’t know any other kids with this name after three years.

Cynthia Jun 8 at 1:51 pm

I was looking for a name that came with several cute nickname options. I never really had much of a nickname growing up and always wanted one. We call him Benji, Ben, and Benny.

Tully Apr 22 at 1:56 pm

Mu husband’s name is Israel…And in the Bible, the last son of Israel was Benjamin, that he had with his beloved favorite wife Raquel…And Raquel is my daughter’s name…So I found that this is the perfect name for a little boy of Israel LOL. And I just love this name…It means “son of the right hand” and Benjamin in the Bible stood by his father’s side till the end. I do love this story.

casie Apr 13 at 11:46 am

This was just a name we liked. Possible nicknames are: Benja (our favorite) and Ben. Goes great with a one syllable middle name.
Possible dislike (but does not bother us) is it’s pretty lengthy in letters.

Benjamin