Benjamin
Meaning
"son of the right hand," from the Hebrew Binyamin, Jacob's youngest and best-loved son; a name for cherished last-borns through centuries of Jewish, Puritan, and American use. Full of gravity, while Ben could not be friendlier
The story
Benjamin is the Hebrew Binyamin, son of the right hand: in Genesis, the youngest of Jacob's twelve sons and the most tenderly loved, which made it for centuries a natural name for a cherished last-born. Jewish families never let it go, the Puritans adopted it, and early America gave it a founding father in Benjamin Franklin, printer, inventor, and signer of the Declaration. Its US chart history is unusual for having almost no drama: solidly present in the 1890s, never out of style, then climbing gently and steadily from the 1960s to a broad plateau near the top in the 2000s and 2010s, where it more or less remains. Few names combine gravity and friendliness so easily. Benjamin is the full, serious version for the diploma; Ben may be the single most companionable syllable in American naming.
Benjamin's name family
One shared root links 4 names in English.
Shared root: from Hebrew Binyamin "son of the right hand", Jacob's youngest son
The family
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Benjamin peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
52,082 people · the #548 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 3,906 · median age 4
Among people named Benjamin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 25,239 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Benjamin
Most people given the name Benjamin in the United States were born between 1980 and 2019. The Benjamin you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Benjamin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Benjamin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Benjamin fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Benjamin travels
Jewish American · a beloved classic across generations
Korean American · son of the right hand (youngest son of Jacob); a steady modern favorite in Korean American church families
Keep exploring
Names like Benjamin · Nicknames for Benjamin · Middle names for Benjamin · Jewish American baby names · Korean American baby names · Hebrew baby names
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