Benjamin
A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "son of the right hand".
Roughly 720,290 people in the United States go by the first name Benjamin, which ranks #11 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Benjamin today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Benjamin births was 1989 (15,788 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Ronald (714,772).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Benjamin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Benjamin with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Benjamin is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 2,474 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
720K
~ 1 in 476 Americans
Peak year
1989
15,788 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11
Tracked since 1880
Census
Benjamin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 606,324 people with the first name Benjamin, which placed it at #69 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#69
National first-name rank
People counted
606K
606,324 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
200.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Benjamin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Benjamin is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Black (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Benjamin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Benjamin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 447,779
- Hispanic or Latino13.6% · 82,297
- Black or African American4.7% · 28,257
- Two or more races3.9% · 23,564
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 21,618
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2,809
Gender
Gender distribution for Benjamin
Out of the 819,436 babies given the name Benjamin since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Benjamin as a male name
- Ranked #11 in 2024
- 9,814 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1989 (15,733 births)
Benjamin as a female name
- Ranked #13,689 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1983 (96 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Benjamin appears almost entirely male. Of the 606,324 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Benjamin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Benjamin from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 142,183 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Benjamin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Benjamin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Benjamin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,407 | 0 | 5,407 |
| 1890s | 4,460 | 0 | 4,460 |
| 1900s | 4,009 | 0 | 4,009 |
| 1910s | 17,310 | 32 | 17,342 |
| 1920s | 21,028 | 94 | 21,122 |
| 1930s | 14,613 | 71 | 14,684 |
| 1940s | 17,183 | 68 | 17,251 |
| 1950s | 23,834 | 95 | 23,929 |
| 1960s | 25,610 | 144 | 25,754 |
| 1970s | 81,337 | 450 | 81,787 |
| 1980s | 141,385 | 798 | 142,183 |
| 1990s | 133,937 | 268 | 134,205 |
| 2000s | 137,299 | 237 | 137,536 |
| 2010s | 134,477 | 171 | 134,648 |
| 2020s | 55,073 | 46 | 55,119 |
Geography
Where Benjamins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Benjamin, while Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15,737 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Benjamin
The name Benjamin has its origins in the Hebrew language and can be traced back to ancient biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew phrase "Ben Yamin" which translates to "son of the right hand" or "son of the south." This name was initially borne by the youngest son of the biblical patriarch Jacob and his wife Rachel, as recorded in the Book of Genesis.
In ancient times, the tribe of Benjamin was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name gained prominence and significance within the Jewish tradition due to its biblical roots. It has been a popular name among Jewish communities for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Benjamin can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where Benjamin, the son of Jacob, is a central figure in the narrative. The name is also mentioned in various other ancient texts, including the Talmud and other Jewish religious writings.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Benjamin. One of the most famous is Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American polymath, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He played a crucial role in the American Revolution and was renowned for his contributions to science, literature, and diplomacy.
Another prominent figure was Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), a British politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 19th century. He was known for his literary works and his influential role in shaping British politics during the Victorian era.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist who significantly contributed to 20th-century classical music. His works, such as the opera "Peter Grimes" and the "War Requiem," are widely celebrated and performed worldwide.
In the field of philosophy, Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was a Swiss-French political philosopher and writer who played a pivotal role in the development of liberal thought during the French Revolution and the early 19th century.
Lastly, Benjamin Zephaniah (born 1958) is a renowned British poet, writer, and activist known for his contributions to contemporary literature and his advocacy for social justice causes.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Benjamin throughout history, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various fields and epochs.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Benjamin
People
Benjamin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Benjamin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Benjamin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Benjamin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 720,290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Benjamin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 476 US residents.
Is Benjamin a common name?
We classify Benjamin as "Very Common". It ranks above 100% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 819,436 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Benjamin most popular?
The single biggest year for Benjamin was 1989, when 15,788 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Benjamin is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Benjamin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 606,324 people with the name Benjamin, or 200.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #69 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Benjamin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Benjamin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Benjamin appears almost entirely male. Of the 606,324 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Benjamin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Benjamin is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.6%) and Black (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Benjamin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Benjamin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (447,779 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Benjamin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Benjamin a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Benjamin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Benjamin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Benjamin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Benjamin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Benjamin?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.