Ben
Ben was the 843rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 292 babies. Its best year was 1889, when it ranked 43rd; the most babies were born in 1918 (1,276). Over the last ten years it has moved down 107 places. More babies were named Ben in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning short form of Benjamin · Hebrew, English
Say it BEN /bɛn/
- Rank in 2025
- #843 boys, down 75 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 292boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19181,276 babies
- Total since 1880
- 85,816babies recorded
What does the name Ben mean?
Ben is the short form of Benjamin, and occasionally of Benedict or Bennett. Benjamin is the Hebrew Binyamin, youngest son of Jacob. In Genesis 35:18 his dying mother Rachel names him Ben-oni, 'son of my sorrow', and Jacob renames him Binyamin, usually read as 'son of the right hand', which can also mean 'son of the south'. Ben is also the Hebrew word for 'son'. Benedict is from Latin benedictus 'blessed'.
בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin) (Biblical Hebrew, “Benjamin”)בֵּן (ben) (Hebrew, “son”)יָמִין (yamin) (Hebrew, “right hand; south”)
How sure is this? Well established. Ben as a short form is established; Benjamin's second element is read as 'right hand' or 'south'.
Related names: Benjamin, Benny, Benedict, Bennett.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ben', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 35:18 (Sefaria, with JPS translation), Sefaria
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Benjamin', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Ben
The usual nicknames for Ben are Benny. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Ben in the last five years, 76 were named Benny, against 40 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benny · also for Benedict, Benjamin, Bennett | Traditional | #841 | 1,197 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Bens go by each one.
Ben popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 467 since 1889.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #843 | 292 |
| 2020 | #768 | 313 |
| 2010 | #692 | 337 |
| 2000 | #559 | 376 |
| 1990 | #515 | 367 |
| 1980 | #349 | 518 |
| 1970 | #316 | 620 |
| 1960 | #257 | 954 |
| 1950 | #250 | 721 |
| 1940 | #178 | 814 |
| 1930 | #154 | 987 |
| 1920 | #137 | 1,138 |
| 1910 | #79 | 454 |
| 1900 | #73 | 355 |
| 1890 | #54 | 363 |
| 1880 | #58 | 305 |
How popular is Ben, counting every spelling?
Ben has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #818 for boys in 2025, against #843 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Ben?
292 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ben (0.08 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Ben born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 29 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ben.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ben?
About 38,100 people born in the US named Ben are alive today, with a median age of 51; half are between 27 and 67. That makes Ben mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ben by state
How common Ben was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Jersey (3.0×), New York (2.4×), Massachusetts (2.2×), Utah (1.7×), Florida (1.5×). In 19 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ben: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ben, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ben · Sibling names for Ben
Ben is also a nickname for Benedict, Benjamin, Bennett and Benson.
Questions about the name Ben
What does Ben mean?
Ben means “short form of Benjamin” (Hebrew, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ben?
Ben was the 843rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 292 babies. Its best year was 1889, when it ranked 43rd; the most babies were born in 1918 (1,276). Over the last ten years it has moved down 107 places. More babies were named Ben in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Ben a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Ben in the US.
Where is Ben most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ben was most common in New Jersey (0.55 per 1,000 boys), followed by New York and Massachusetts.