boys' name ★ peaked 1989

Benjamin

Meaning son of the right/south or son of days Gender Boy Rank 2025 #11 Trend ↓ Falling 20%

From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”).

Rank 2025
#11
among boys · unchanged vs 2024
Babies in 2025
9,770
named Benjamin · -1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 175
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1989
15,788 babies
All-time total
829,312
#38 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Benjamin popularity over time

829,312 babies have been named Benjamin since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 5,407 5,407 541 – #21
1890s – 4,460 4,460 446 -18% #37
1900s – 4,009 4,009 401 -10% #56
1910s 32 17,310 17,342 1,734 +333% #64
1920s 94 21,028 21,122 2,112 +22% #82
1930s 71 14,613 14,684 1,468 -30% #113
1940s 68 17,184 17,252 1,725 +17% #124
1950s 95 23,833 23,928 2,393 +39% #122
1960s 144 25,609 25,753 2,575 +8% #91
1970s 450 81,332 81,782 8,178 +218% #29
1980s 798 141,366 142,164 14,216 +74% #28
1990s 268 133,939 134,207 13,421 -6% #29
2000s 237 137,309 137,546 13,755 +2% #19
2010s 171 134,509 134,680 13,468 -2% #6
2020s (to 2025) 54 64,922 64,976 10,829 -20% #7

Where Benjamin is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 9,410 5.51 #13
2027 9,121 5.34 #13
2028 8,882 5.20 #13
2029 8,684 5.08 #16
2030 8,519 4.99 #18

Where Benjamin is most popular

Boys named Benjamin per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 6.10 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Benjamin born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 83 13.2 +117%
New Hampshire 293 13.2 +116%
Rhode Island 208 12.8 +109%
District of Columbia 187 12.7 +108%
Wyoming 70 12.1 +98%
Massachusetts 1,624 11.8 +94%
Alaska 123 10.3 +69%
Delaware 151 9.96 +63%
Connecticut 655 9.68 +59%
Maine 186 9.59 +57%
Oregon 666 8.77 +44%
Montana 151 8.56 +40%
Illinois 2,140 8.37 +37%
Pennsylvania 2,205 8.30 +36%
Washington 1,347 8.23 +35%
Idaho 325 7.94 +30%
New Jersey 1,597 7.93 +30%
Nevada 445 7.81 +28%
California 7,014 7.67 +26%
Michigan 1,551 7.57 +24%
North Dakota 129 7.56 +24%
Colorado 964 7.47 +23%
Indiana 1,175 7.33 +20%
Virginia 1,384 7.29 +20%
New Mexico 239 7.25 +19%
Arizona 1,181 7.22 +18%
Missouri 994 7.17 +18%
Kansas 490 7.14 +17%
New York 3,090 7.14 +17%
Utah 678 7.10 +17%
Nebraska 307 7.06 +16%
Florida 3,306 6.98 +15%
Minnesota 850 6.93 +14%
Maryland 823 6.90 +13%
Arkansas 429 6.78 +11%
Ohio 1,792 6.76 +11%
Wisconsin 786 6.63 +9%
Iowa 444 6.44 +6%
South Dakota 119 6.40 +5%
Oklahoma 548 6.20 ≈ national
North Carolina 1,542 6.04 ≈ national
Kentucky 593 5.91 ≈ national
Hawaii 91 5.86 ≈ national
Tennessee 1,057 5.86 ≈ national
Alabama 640 5.85 ≈ national
West Virginia 190 5.82 -5%
Texas 5,060 5.74 -6%
South Carolina 590 5.71 -6%
Georgia 1,355 5.35 -12%
Louisiana 531 5.19 -15%
Mississippi 260 4.58 -25%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Benjamin

Benjamin is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #11 in 2025 with 9,762 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 829,312 American babies have been named Benjamin. Its peak came in 1989, when 15,788 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Benjamin stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Benjamin?

The median living Benjamin is about 28 years old; half are between 14 and 41. An estimated 726 thousand people named Benjamin are alive in the United States today.

median 28 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Benjamin year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 8 #11,099 9,762 #11
2024 6 #13,741 9,865 #11
2023 8 #11,349 10,224 #11
2022 10 #9,798 10,912 #9
2021 12 #8,558 11,895 #7
2020 10 #9,662 12,264 #7
2019 14 #7,801 13,044 #7
2018 20 #6,050 13,488 #6
2017 9 #10,829 13,858 #6
2016 12 #8,981 14,686 #6
2015 18 #6,764 13,732 #10
2014 17 #7,037 13,830 #12
2013 19 #6,511 13,515 #14
2012 15 #7,870 12,835 #16
2011 24 #5,572 13,082 #19
2010 23 #5,805 12,439 #22
2009 11 #10,081 13,123 #19
2008 22 #6,159 12,958 #25
2007 17 #7,439 13,282 #26
2006 12 #9,381 13,766 #24
2005 19 #6,304 13,586 #25
2004 67 #2,509 13,832 #25
2003 22 #5,447 14,086 #24
2002 26 #4,653 13,492 #27
2001 17 #6,368 14,339 #27
2000 24 #4,811 14,845 #26
1995 23 #4,362 12,720 #31
1990 39 #2,907 14,633 #33
1985 88 #1,432 13,423 #31
1980 80 #1,494 13,622 #32
1975 47 #1,910 9,544 #36
1970 22 #3,038 3,926 #81
1965 15 #3,275 2,337 #133
1960 9 #4,466 2,249 #155
1955 10 #3,799 2,449 #132
1950 8 #3,986 2,185 #123
1945 8 #3,410 1,562 #140
1940 6 #3,904 1,446 #128
1935 7 #3,454 1,409 #123
1930 8 #3,384 1,594 #115
1925 8 #3,697 2,069 #93
1920 6 #4,443 2,309 #83
1915 7 #3,470 2,241 #71
1910 – – 536 #70
1905 – – 379 #68
1900 – – 450 #57
1895 – – 452 #48
1890 – – 537 #37
1885 – – 464 #38
1880 – – 490 #32

Famous people named Benjamin

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel (1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–present) b. 1949 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin American Founding Father and polymath (1706–1790) 18th century
  3. 3 Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt American actor (born 1963) Contemporary
  4. 4 Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison President of the United States from 1889 to 1893 1833–1901 · 19th century
  5. 5 Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868; 1874–1880) 1804–1881 · 19th century
  6. 6 Benjamin Guggenheim Benjamin Guggenheim American businessman and ''Titanic'' passenger (1865–1912) 19th century
  7. 7 Benjamin Britten Benjamin Britten English composer and pianist (1913–1976) Contemporary
  8. 8 Benjamin Hornigold English pirate (1680–1719) 17th century
  9. 9 Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush American Founding Father, physician, educator (1746–1813) 1745–1813 · 18th century
  10. 10 Benjamin Graham Benjamin Graham American financial analyst, investor, and professor (1894–1976) 19th century
  11. 11 Benjamin Spock Benjamin Spock American pediatrician, political activist, and writer (1903–1998) Contemporary
  12. 12 Benjamin Butler Benjamin Butler American general and politician (1818–1893) 19th century
  13. 13 Benjamin West Benjamin West American-born British painter (1738–1820) 18th century
  14. 14 Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela Jewish explorer and writer (1130–1173) Medieval
  15. 15 Benjamin Constant Benjamin Constant Swiss-French politician and writer (1767–1830) 18th century
  16. 16 Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson British military officer, scientist and inventor 1753–1814 · 18th century
  17. 17 Benjamin Bloom American psychologist 1913–1999 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Benjamin Tucker Benjamin Tucker American individualist anarchist (1854–1939) 19th century
  19. 19 Benjamin Mkapa Benjamin Mkapa President of Tanzania from 1995 to 2005 1938–2020 · Contemporary
  20. 20 Benjamin Lee Whorf Benjamin Lee Whorf American linguist (1897–1941) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Benjamin, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Benjamin?

The median living Benjamin is about 28 years old. Half of all living Benjamins are between 14 and 41 years old.

How many people named Benjamin are alive today?

An estimated 726 thousand people named Benjamin are alive in the United States, based on 829,312 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Benjamin mean?

From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”).

How popular is the name Benjamin in 2025?

Benjamin ranked #11 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 9,762 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Benjamin?

829,312 babies have been named Benjamin in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Benjamin most popular?

Benjamin peaked in 1989, when 15,788 newborns received the name.

Is Benjamin a boy or girl name?

Benjamin is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Benjamin rising or falling?

Benjamin is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Benjamin become more popular?

Benjamin is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 8,519 boys named Benjamin in 2030, which would rank around #18. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Benjamin?

Well-known people named Benjamin include Benjamin Netanyahu (politician), Benjamin Franklin (politician), Benjamin Bratt (actor).

Names like Benjamin

Names that sound and feel close to Benjamin: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Benjamin with similar names → More names starting with B →