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Benjamin
Gender: Masculine
Language: English
Etymology:
Benjamin is the modern English form of a Hebrew name. Originally it meant Son of the South or Son of My Right Hand.
History:
During the Middle Ages, Benjamin was almost exclusively a Jewish nameexcept as a name for boys whose mothers had died in childbirth. After the Reformation, Old Testament names came into fashion, and Benjamin was a common name from the 17th to 19th centuries. At the end of the 20th century, it has once again become a popular name.
Pronunciation: BEN-jah-min.
Diminutives: Ben, Benji, Benjie, Benjy, Benno, Benny, Bennie.
French: Jamin.
Alternates: Benkamin, Benyamin.
Hawaiian: Peniamina.
Hebrew (Modern): Binyamin.
Italian: Beniamino.
Polish: Beniamin, Bienijamin.
Russian: Venyamin.
Scottish: Beathan.
Spanish: Benjamín.
See also: Ben, Bennie, Benny.
Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Benjamin West (1738-1820)
American painter.
Benjamin Constant (1767-1830)
French-Swiss author.
Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846)
English painter.
Benjamin Godard (1849-1895)
French opera composer.
Benjamín Jarnés (1888-1949)
Spanish novelist.
Beniamino Gigli (1890-1957)
Italian opera singer.
Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890-1963)
British pianist.
Benjamin Waters (1902-1998)
American jazz musician.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
British composer.
Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Benjamin of Tudela (12th century)
Rabbi and traveler to China.
Benjamin Lundy (1789-1839)
American abolitionist.
Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893)
British scholar.
Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941)
American linguist.
Benjamin Mazar (Binyamin Maisler) (1906-1995)
Israeli archaeologist.
Miscellaneous:
Benjamin Harris (1673-1716)
Early American journalist.
Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810)
American Revolutionary general.
Benjamin Bonneville (1796-1878)
American explorer of the Rocky Mountains.
Sir Benjamin Guinness (1798-1868)
Mayor of Dublin and founder of Guinness brewery.
Benjamin Henry Day (1810-1889)
America journalist. Founder of the New York Sun.
Benjamin Caunt (1815-1861)
British boxer.
Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. (1877-1970)
American general.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (1912-)
American general.
Political Figures:
Benjamin de Rohan, Seigneur de Doubise (1583-1642)
French Huguenot leader.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
American statesman, printer, author, inventor, and scientist.
Benjamin Edes (1732-1803)
American founder (with John Gill) of the Boston Gazette and Country Journal, an anti-British newspaper.
Benjamin Rush (1746-1813)
American statesman. Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Sir Benjamin DUrban (1777-1849)
British governor of Cape Colony (South Africa).
Benjamin F. Wade (1800-1878)
American politician.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
Prime Minister of Britain.
Benjamin R. Curtis (1809-1874)
Associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Benjamin F. Tracy (1830-1915)
American secretary of the Navy.
Benjamin Helm Bristow (1832-1896)
American Secretary of the Treasury.
Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901)
23rd President of the United States.
Benjamin R. Tillman (1847-1918)
American politician.
Benjamin Kállay (1839-1903)
Austrian-Hungarian statesman.
Benjamin L. Hooks (1925-)
Executive director of the NAACP.
Benjamin Netanyahu (1949-)
Prime Minister of Israel.
Religious Figures:
Benjamin (Biblical)
The beloved youngest son of Jacob and Rachel.
Scientists:
Benjamin Robins (1707-1751)
British mathematician.
Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)
American mathematician, inventor, and astronomer.
Benjamin Waterhouse (1754-1846)
American physician.
Benjamin Wright (1770-1842)
American engineer.
Benjamin Kállay (1779-1864)
American geologist and chemist.
Sir Benjamin Brodie (1783-1862)
British physiologist.
Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
American mathematician.
Benjamin Silliman (1816-1885)
American chemist.
Benjamin Apthorp Gould (1824-1896)
American astronomer.
Sir Benjamin Baker (1840-1907)
English engineer.
Benjamin Spock (1903-1998)
American physician.
Singers and Entertainers:
Benjamin Christensen (1879-1959)
Danish filmmaker.
Benjamin Johnson (1918-1996)
American actor.
Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.270 % named Benjamin
0.078 % named Ben
0.032 % named Bennie
0.030 % named Benny
Popularity of Benjamin:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 19th most popular.
1850: 29th most popular.
1875: 33rd most popular.
1900-1910: 64th most popular.
1910-1920: 73rd most popular.
1920-1930: 88th most popular.
1930-1940: 124th most popular.
1940-1950: 130th most popular.
1950-1960: 126th most popular.
1960-1970: 131st most popular.
1970-1980: 42nd most popular.
1980-1990: 31st most popular.
1990: 33rd most popular.
1991: 33rd most popular.
1992: 34th most popular.
1993: 34th most popular.
1994: 33rd most popular.
1995: 32nd most popular.
1996: 28th most popular.
1997: 30th most popular.
1998: 32nd most popular.
1999: 29th most popular.
2000: 21st most popular.
2001: 27th most popular.
2002: 28th most popular.
2003: 25th most popular.
In Ireland...
1998: 77th most popular.
1999: 75th most popular.
2000: 67th most popular.
2001: 66th most popular.
2002: 53rd most popular.
2003: 53rd most popular.
In France...
1900: 110th most popular.
1910: 168th most popular.
1920: 153rd most popular.
1930: 199th most popular.
1939: 197th most popular.
1940-1960: N/A
1968: 200th most popular.
1970: 134th most popular.
1980: 28th most popular.
1990: 13th most popular.
2000: 25th most popular.
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