ninan.org

Benjamin

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~723,300 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#11 among boys
Births in 2025
9,770 829,312 since 1880
Typical age
28 years, median

Benjamin popularity over time

Benjamin rank by birth year, 1880–2025Benjamin ranked #32 in 1880 and #11 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #6, in 2016.#10#100#11best #6 in 201618901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1989 is the peak year for Benjamin, with 15,788 births. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Across the record, 105 years put Benjamin in the top 100.

The 2025 position is #11, on 9,770 births. The ten-year change is -29%.

Babies named Benjamin per yearPeaks at 15,788 births in 1989.15,788 in 1989018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Benjamin?

Roughly 723,300 Benjamins are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 829,312 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Benjamin?

Median age among living Benjamins: 28. Most living bearers were born in the 2000s. By the site’s era rules that makes Benjamin a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Benjamin

Ages of living people named BenjaminHalf of living Benjamins are older than 28 and half younger.median 28020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Benjamin is most common

The name is concentrated in Vermont, at 2.5× the national rate. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts follow.

Where Benjamin is used more than average5 states use the name Benjamin more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: 2.5× the national rateVTNew Hampshire: 2.3× the national rateNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: 2.3× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: 2.1× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 2.1× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Benjamin is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Vermont 212 2.5×
New Hampshire 647 2.3×
Rhode Island 484 2.3×
Massachusetts 3,908 2.1×
District of Columbia 468 2.1×

Benjamin in England and Wales

ONS recorded 808 births named Benjamin in 2025, ranking it #61. That is 43% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Benjamin comes from

From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν, from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין. Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Benjamin

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Benjamin Franklin American polymath and statesman 1706–1790 216
Benjamin Disraeli British statesman 1804–1881 138
Benjamin Harrison President of the United States, 1889-1893 1833–1901 136
Benjamin Constant French-Swiss politician, writer on politics and religion 1767–1830 69
Benjamin Britten English composer, conductor, and pianist 1913–1976 68
Benjamin Pavard French footballer 1996 62
Benjamin Spock American pediatrician and author of Baby and Child Care 1903–1998 53
Benjamin List German chemist (1968-) 1968 50
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 690 in 1911 to 1,272 in 1912 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/benjamin.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).