Benjy
A diminutive of the masculine name Benjamin of Hebrew origin, meaning "son of the right hand".
Name Census estimates that about 309 living Americans carry the first name Benjy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Benjy today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Benjy births was 1974 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Benjy. 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.
People living today
309
~ 1 in 1,109,237 Americans
Peak year
1974
29 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,382
Tracked since 1936
Popularity
Benjy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Benjy from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 153 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Benjy 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 Benjy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Benjys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Benjy
The name Benjy is a diminutive form of the Hebrew name Benjamin, which means "son of the right hand" or "son of the south." The name has its origins in ancient Hebrew culture and can be traced back to the biblical figure Benjamin, one of the twelve sons of Jacob in the Book of Genesis.
In the biblical narrative, Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, and his birth was marked by tragedy as Rachel died while giving birth to him. The tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from this biblical figure.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Benjamin can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears numerous times, particularly in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Judges. However, the diminutive form Benjy is a more recent development, likely emerging in the English-speaking world as a nickname or pet name for Benjamin.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Benjamin or its diminutive form Benjy. One of the most famous was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), a Founding Father of the United States, renowned for his contributions to science, politics, and literature.
Another notable Benjamin was Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), a British statesman and novelist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the late 19th century. In the realm of literature, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was a renowned British composer and conductor, known for his operas and orchestral works.
In the modern era, Benjy is perhaps best known as the nickname of Benjamin "Benjy" Ferree (1938-2018), an American professional golfer who won numerous tournaments on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s.
Additionally, Benjy Travis (born 1981) is an American actor and musician who has appeared in films and television shows, and Benjy Bronk (born 1977) is a radio personality and writer best known for his work on the Howard Stern Show.
People
Benjy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Benjy 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
Benjy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Benjy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 309 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Benjy 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 1,109,237 US residents.
Is Benjy a common name?
We classify Benjy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 354 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Benjy most popular?
The single biggest year for Benjy was 1974, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Benjy is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Benjy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Benjy 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.
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.