Benjamin |
Pronunciation | /ˈbɛndʒəmɪn/ |
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Gender | Male |
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Word/name | בִּנְיָמִין Bīnyāmīn |
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Meaning | "Son of my right hand" in Hebrew and Arabic languages. |
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Variant form(s) | Benyaameen, Benyāmīn, Binyaameen, Binyāmīn |
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Nickname(s) | Ben, Bengie, Benj, Benji, Benjie, Benjo, Benjy, Benno, Benny, Benson, Benvolio, Benzino, Biniam |
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Benjamin is a popular given name for males, derived from Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין, Bīnyāmīn, translating as "son of the right [hand]" in both Hebrew and Arabic languages, although in the Samaritan Pentateuch the name appears as "Binyaamem": "son of my days".[1][2]
Benjamin is often shortened to Ben, and sometimes to Benny, Benito, Benji, etc. It is also a patronymic surname. Like many biblical names, it is popular in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths alike, having many variant forms in other languages.
The "Benjamin of the family" is a phrase used in several languages to refer to the youngest son – especially when he is much younger than his brothers[3] (see also the "youngest son" stock character in fiction). Sometimes the name is chosen for a son born to mature parents unlikely to have more children, especially if he has several older siblings. Both of these usages derive from the biblical son of Jacob of that name, who occupied that position in his family.
Alternate versions of the name exist for females, like Benjamina or Benjawan (used by some actresses and models in Thailand).
Given name
Notable people with the name Benjamin or its variant spellings include:
- Benjamin II (1818–1864), the pen name of a Romanian traveller
- Pope Benjamin II of Alexandria (1327–1339), Coptic Pope
- Benjamin (Khazar), ruler of the late 9th and early 10th centuries
- Saint Benjamin (disambiguation), multiple people
- Ben Affleck (born 1972), American film screenwriter, director and actor
- Benjamin Agosto (born 1982), American figure skater
- Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806), American author and surveyor
- Ben Barnes (actor) (born 1981), British actor
- Ben Bernanke (born 1953), former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve
- Benjamin Biolay (born 1973), French singer, songwriter, producer and actor
- Benjamin F. Bowles (1869–1928), African American civil rights leader, and founder and president of Douglass University.
- Benjamin Breedlove (1993–2011), American YouTube and internet personality
- Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), British composer
- Benjamin Burnley (born 1978), lead singer of American rock band Breaking Benjamin
- Benjamin Butler (1818–1893), American lawyer, politician, soldier and businessman
- Benjamin Cardozo (1870–1938), U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- Benjamin Carrigan (born 1998), Australian association football player
- Benjamin F. Cheatham (1820–1886), Confederate general and California gold miner
- Benjamin Chee Chee (1944–1977), Canadian artist
- Benjamin Constant (1767–1830), Swiss-born French politician
- Benjamin Constant (Brazil) (1836–1891), Brazilian general and politician
- Benjamin Cutting (born 1987), Australian cricketer
- Benjamin Diskin (born 1982), American voice actor
- Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Benjamin Faunce (1873–1949), American druggist and businessman
- Benjamin W. Fortson IV, American linguist
- Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
- Benjamin Frick (1796–1871), American politician from Pennsylvania
- Benjamin Graham (1894–1976), British-born American investor, economist, and professor
- Benjamin Harrison (disambiguation), multiple people, but most notably:
- Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), 23rd President of the United States
- Benjamin Harrison V (1726-1791), a Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Governor of Virginia
- Benjamin Hick (1790–1842) English engineer and inventor
- Ben Hogan (1912–1997), American professional golfer
- Ben Jonson (1572–1637), English playwright and poet, in his time second only to Shakespeare
- Benjamin Kallos (born 1981), American lawyer and politician
- Benjamin Kimutai (born 1971), Kenyan long-distance runner
- Benjamin Kowalewicz (born 1975), lead singer of Canadian rock band Billy Talent
- Benjamin H. Kline (1894–1974), American cinematographer and film director
- Benjamin Lambert (1937–2014), American optometrist and politician
- Benjamin Lay (1682–1759), Anglo-American abolitionist, activist, and humanitarian
- Benjamin Leiner (Benny Leonard; the "Ghetto Wizard"; 1896–1947), American world champion lightweight Hall of Fame boxer
- Benjamin Luxon (born 1937), British baritone singer
- Benjamin Mazar (1906–1995), Israeli historian and archeologist; President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Benjamin McKenzie (born 1978), American actor
- Benjamin K. Miller (judge) (born 1936), American judge
- Benjamin Mkapa (1938–2020), 3rd President of Tanzania
- Benjamin Mwangata (born 1966), Tanzanian boxer
- Benjamin Netanyahu (born 1949), Israeli Prime Minister
- Benjamin Nolot, American documentary filmmaker
- Benjamin of Tudela, 12th-century Spanish rabbi
- Benjamin Okolski, American figure skater
- Benjamin Orr (1947–2000), American bass guitarist and singer-songwriter of The Cars
- Benjamin Peltonen, Finnish recording artist, known mononymously as Benjamin
- Benjamin Franklin Perera, Sri Lankan Sinhala diplomat
- Benjamin Perrin, Canadian professor
- Benjamin Wood Richards (1797-1851), 59th mayor of Philadelphia
- Benjamin Rush (1746–1813), American politician, revolutionary, humanitarian, physician, educator, and founder of Dickinson College
- Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena (1904–1971), Sri Lankan politician
- Benjamin Shapiro (born 1984), American conservative political commentator
- Benjamin Frank Shelton (1902–1963) American singer
- Ben Simm (disambiguation), multiple people, Benjamin, including Sim, Sims, Simms
- Benjamin Smoke (1960–1999), American musician
- Benjamin St-Juste (born 1997), Canadian-American football player
- Benyamin Sueb (1939–1995), Indonesian actor
- Benjamin Tee, Singaporean scientist and inventor
- Benjamin Timbrell (c. 1683–1754), English master builder and architect
- Benjamin (Benji) Ungar (born 1986), American fencer
- Benjamin de Vries (born 1923), Dutch-Israeli economic historian
- Benjamin Wade (1800–1878), American lawyer and US Senator
- Benjamin Wallace (circus owner) (1847–1921), American circus owner
- Benjamin Wallace (writer), American author and magazine writer
- Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1941), American linguist, known for contributing to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner (born 1984), American 2008 Gold Medal Olympic swimmer and former world record holder
- Benjamin Willoughby (1855–1940), Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court
- Benjamin Yusupov (born 1962), Israeli classical composer, conductor and pianist
- Benjamin Zendel, Canadian psychologist
- Benjamin Zephaniah (born 1958), British poet and writer
- Benjamin Zhang Bin (born 1974), Chinese Manhua artist and illustrator
Fictional characters
- Benjamin, a donkey from George Orwell's novel Animal Farm
- Benjamin, in The Walking Dead television series
- Benjamin the Elephant (original German name Benjamin Blümchen), the main character of the same named television series
- Benjamin Bunny, Peter Rabbit's cousin in The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
- Benjamin Button, the title character of both The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story) and film
- Benjamin C. L., known as Soldier Boy, from the third season of Amazon Prime Video's The Boys
- Benjamin Franklin Parker, known as Uncle Ben, from Marvel Comics's Spider-Man
- Principal Benjamin Krupp, the school principal and title character from Captain Underpants
- Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, the main character from the M*A*S*H novels, the film and the television series
- Benjamin Richards/Ben Richards, main character in the 1987 movie The Running Man
- Benjamin Sisko, Commanding Officer of Deep Space Nine in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine television series
- Benjamin Stilton, Geronimo Stilton's nephew and a main character in the Geronimo Stilton book series
- Benjamin Kirby Tennyson (better known as Ben or Ben 10) from Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise
- Gentle Ben, bear character created by Walt Morey, in the children's book and 1967 television series of the same name and the 1967 film Gentle Giant
- Benjamin "Ben" Gross, a character on Netflix's Never Have I Ever portrayed by Jaren Lewison
- Benjamin "Benjy" Compson, narrator of first section and mentally handicapped son of Jason from the William Faulkner novel "The Sound and the Fury".
- Ben Solo, son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, main character in the sequel trilogy of Star Wars Saga portrayed by Adam Driver