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Benjamin

Hebrew
"son of the right hand"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Tue Sep 30 2025

Benjamin Origin and Meaning

The name Benjamin is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "son of the right hand".

Benjamin is a biblical name that has enjoyed widespread favor for decades, ranking in the US Top 50 for almost half a century and the Top 10 from 2015 until 2023.

One of those golden boys' names that feels traditional as well as sensitive and stylish, Benjamin has the further advantage of the friendly, accessible nickname Ben.

Benjamin is hugely popular not just in the US but in a range of other western countries, including France and Germany along with Scandinavia and Latin America. The names Benjamin and Ben will be familiar around the world.

Benjamin is derived from the Hebrew name Binyamin, from the elements ben, meaning "son" and yamin, "right hand." In the Old Testament's Book of Genesis, Benjamin was the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob and Rachel and he was one of the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.

There have been numerous notable Benjamin namesakes, from Benjamin Franklin to Dr. Benjamin Spock. The name's popularity spiked after the release of The Graduate in 1967, with Dustin Hoffman playing the iconic Benjamin Braddock.

Benjamin is the name of the sons of Kelly Preston and John Travolta as well as of Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady.

# 11 in the US

Benjamin Rank in US Top 1000

# 104 on Nameberry

Benjamin Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Benjamin

20 Names Similar to Benjamin

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Benjamin.

Famous People Named Benjamin

  • Benjamin
    son of Bilhan, of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chr. 7:10).
  • Benjamin
    of the sons of Harim (Ezra 10:32)
  • Benjamin Franklin
    Founding Father of the United States
  • Benjamin Banneker
    American scientist and surveyor
  • Benjamin Harrison
    23rd U.S. president
  • Benjamin Disraeli
    1st Earl of Beaconsfield, British Prime Minister
  • Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu
    9th Prime Minister of Israel
  • (Edward) Benjamin Britten
    English composer
  • Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade
    U.S. Senator from Ohio
  • Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller
    American actor
  • Benjamin Geza "Ben" Affleck(
    Boldt), American actor and director
  • Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes
    English actor
  • Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger
    American NFL football player
  • Benjamin "Ben" McKenzie (Schenkkan)
    American actor
  • Benjamin "Ben" Gibbard
    American musician
  • Benjamin "Ben" Shapiro
    author and political commentator, cousin of actress Mara Willson
  • Benjamin John "Ben" Howard
    English singer,songwriter
  • Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper
    American singer,songwriter
  • Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein
    American actor, TV personality and politician
  • Benjamin John "Ben" Whishaw
    English actor
  • Benjamin Lev "Ben" Kweller
    American singer,songwriter
  • Benjamin "Ben" Lovett
    English musician
  • Benjamin Biolay
    French singer,songwriter
  • Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds
    American singer,songwriter
  • Benjamin W. Lee
    Korean,American theoretical physicist
  • Benjamin Morrell
    American sea captain and memoirist
  • Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort
    New Zealand architect
  • Benjamin Franklin Tilley
    1st Governor of American Samoa
  • Benjamin Ricketson Tucker
    American anarchist
  • Benjamin Alexandro Agosto
    American Olympic ice dancer
  • Benjamin Leiner
    birth name of American boxer Benny Leonard
  • Benjamin Burnley
    American musician
  • Benjamin Filipovic
    Bosnian film director
  • Benjamin Stone
    English actor
  • Benjamin Hayes Grier
    YouTuber
  • Benjamin Michael "Ben" Seewald
    American reality TV personality; husband of Jessa (Duggar) Seewald
  • Benjamin August "Ben" Eckstein
    American child actor (identical triplet brother of Alexander & Caleb)
  • Benjamin Arthur "Ben" McKee
    American musician of band Imagine Dragons
  • Benjamin Romney
    son of American politician Mitt Romney
  • Benjamin Atkinson
    son of actor Rowan Atkinson
  • Benjamin Storm Keough
    son of singer Lisa Marie Presley
  • Benjamin Ford
    son of American actor Harrison Ford
  • Benjamin Edward Sanaov (b. 2005)
    son of American actress Alison Sweeney
  • Benjamin Rein Brady (b. 2009)
    son of model Gisele Bundchen and NFL player Tom Brady
  • Benjamin Travolta (b. 2010)
    son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston
  • Benjamin Peltonen
    Finnish singer
  • Benjamin Michael Sorge (b. 2016)
    son of reality television star Jasmine Arteaga Sorge
  • Benjamin Parma Ritter (b. 2017)
    son of American actor Tyler Ritter and Argentinian film director Lelia Parma
  • Benjamin "Ben" Halloran
    Australian international footballer
  • Benjamin Ingrosso
    Swedish pop,singer, son of Pernilla Wahlgren and Emilio Ingrosso
  • Benjamin Allen Cohen (b. 2019)
    son of American radio and TV talk show host Andy Cohen

The name Benjamin in Pop Culture

  • "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
    " F. Scott Fitzgerald story and film
  • Benjamin Braddock
    main character in film "The Graduate"
  • Benjamin Suddlechop
    barber in The Fortunes of Nigel (1822) by Sir Walter Scott
  • Benjamin Kirby Tennyson
    main character on animated series "Ben 10"
  • Benjamin Hubert Horatio Humphrey Seaver
    character on TV's "Growing Pains"
  • Benjamin Price
    character on TV's "Ravenswood"
  • Benjamin “Ben” Mitchell
    character on British soap opera “Eastenders”
  • Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
    main character on TV's M*A*S*H
  • Benjamin Woodman and Trilo Quist
    ventriloquist duo in video game 'Ace Attorney'
  • Benjamin "Ben" Wyatt
    character on TV's Parks and Recreation
  • Benjamin Brown
    character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
  • Benjamin "Ben" Grimm
    also known as The Thing, character in Marvel Universe
  • Benjamin "Benny" Alden
    character in Gertrude Chandler Warner's "The Boxcar Children"
  • Benjamin "Ben" Tallmadge
    real life Revolutionary War hero portrayed on AMC's "Turn"
  • Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Gates
    main character of the "National Treasure" movies
  • "The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
    " children's book by Beatrix Potter
  • Benjen Stark
    character on "Game of Thrones"
  • Benjamin "Ben" Ripley
    main character in book series "Spy School"
  • Benjamin Lafayette Sisko
    Captain on TV show "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
  • Benjamin "Benny" Young
    TV character on "The Haves and the Have Nots".

International Variations of the name Benjamin

  • Beniamin
    Slavic
  • Benjaminho
    Portuguese
  • Benjammén
    Spanish
  • Min
    Spanish
  • Benjamino
    Italian
  • Chelín
    Spanish
  • Mincho
    Spanish
  • Benja
    Spanish
  • Beniamino
    Italian
  • Venjamín
    Spanish
  • Benkamin
    Basque
  • Beinish
    Yiddish
  • Benjamé
    Spanish
  • Binyamin
    Israeli
  • Benjemín
    Spanish
  • Bannerjee
    Gaelic
  • Veniamin
    Greek
  • Beniamín
    Spanish
  • Mino
    Spanish

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