Ben
Masculine · “Son”
Ben is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 85,349 boys against 467 girls since 1880.
Three letters, one syllable, and a run on the American charts stretching back to the very first year records were kept. Ben has spent most of its life as the everyday form of Benjamin — the youngest son in the Book of Genesis — and part of it standing on its own, filled out on birth certificates with nothing behind it. Either way it has never had to be explained to anyone.
How old is the name Ben?
Ben was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ben alive today was born around 1945, making them about 80 years old. About 40,000 people named Ben are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ben most popular?
Ben peaked in 1889, reaching #43 nationally. Today it ranks #843, 800 places below that high. See the whole 1889 chart.
Where it comes from
From Binyamin to Ben
The story of Ben
In Genesis, Rachel dies bearing her last son and calls him Ben-Oni; Jacob renames him Binyamin, son of the right hand, and the tribe of Benjamin takes his name. Greek and Latin translators of the Hebrew scriptures carried the name west as Beniamin, and English took it up in earnest after the Reformation, when biblical names spread through Protestant households. Ben came along as the clipped form and never left it. It has also long doubled as the short form of Benedict and Bennett, two names from an entirely different Latin root, so the nickname has more than one door into it.
Meaning
"Son" — and, through Benjamin, "son of the right hand"
Ben is the Hebrew word for son, and the first element of Binyamin, "son of the right hand." The same short form also serves Benedict and Bennett, which come from Latin benedictus, "blessed" — so a Ben may be standing in for either family. Unrelated: the Ben in Scottish mountain names like Ben Nevis is Gaelic beinn, "peak."
How the name formed
- Binyamin
- Beniamin
- Benjamin
- Ben
Related forms: Ben (בן) · Ben · Ben · Benjamin · Benjamín · Beniamino
Pronouncing Ben
BEN
One syllable, said the same way in English, German and Dutch. Nobody will ask you to repeat it.
Nicknames for Ben
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19181,276 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #43reached in 1889
- Change vs 2022
- −11.5%292 in 2025, from 330
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ben in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ben (בן) in Hebrew — transliteration
- Ben in German — same name
- Ben in Dutch — same name
- Benjamin in French — related form
- Benjamín in Spanish — related form
- Beniamino in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Bens among us
people named Ben are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,850 born in 2025 was named Ben
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ben sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Ben is headed
Ben should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ben beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ben in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way it sounds, with one accepted spelling — no correcting, no clarifying over the phone.
- Works both as a full legal name and as the short form of Benjamin, Benedict or Bennett, so the formality can be chosen later.
- On the US charts continuously since record-keeping began, without ever vanishing.
- Recognized unchanged in German and Dutch, and understood everywhere Benjamin travels.
- Almost everyone will assume it is short for Benjamin. If Ben is the whole name, expect to say so fairly often — and expect forms and teachers to lengthen it anyway.
- A Ben in a classroom is rarely the only one answering to it, because so many Benjamins go by Ben day to day. The registered name is uncommon; the spoken one is not.
- Three letters gives you very little to work with alongside a short surname. Say the full combination out loud before deciding.
- Big Ben is the standing joke, and it arrives early. It tends to wear out fast.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ben to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ben
Masculine · #843 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Bens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 40,000 people named Ben are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ben in 2025?
- Ben ranks #843 among US boy names in 2025, with 292 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ben?
- About 1 in every 5,850 US boys born in 2025 was named Ben — 292 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ben with classmates?
- Ben will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ben
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Conor#843 · Coleson#843 · Jimmy#846 · Cason#846 · Casen#840 · Alfred#840 · Benny#840 · Alvin#838
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ben? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ben and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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