Binyamin
Of Hebrew origin, meaning "son of the right hand."
Name Census estimates that about 1,019 living Americans carry the first name Binyamin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Binyamin today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Binyamin births was 2024 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Binyamin. 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.
Key insights
- • Binyamin is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 336,363 Americans
Peak year
2024
61 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,307
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Binyamin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Binyamin from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 376 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Binyamin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Binyamin 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 Binyamin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Binyamins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Binyamin, while Maryland, California, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 143 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Binyamin
The name Binyamin is a Hebrew name derived from the Biblical Hebrew words "ben" meaning "son" and "yamin" meaning "right hand." It is the name of one of the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob, who was later known as Benjamin.
The origin of the name Binyamin can be traced back to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, where it is mentioned that Rachel, Jacob's wife, named her second son Binyamin while giving birth to him. The name was given as she was in difficult labor and was told that she would have another son, who would be her "son of the right hand" or "son of the south."
Binyamin is also mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible, where it refers to the Tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe was known for producing skilled archers and warriors, and they played a significant role in the early history of the Israelites.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Binyamin was in the 11th century BCE, when King Saul, the first king of Israel, was from the Tribe of Benjamin. Another notable figure with the name Binyamin was the 12th-century philosopher and scholar Benjamin of Tudela, who traveled extensively and documented Jewish communities across the world.
In the 15th century, a famous Spanish Jewish philosopher and scholar, Binyamin Musafia, lived and worked in Italy. He was known for his commentaries on various Jewish texts and his contributions to the field of Hebrew grammar.
During the 19th century, Binyamin Disraeli, a British politician and writer, served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice. He was known for his political skills and his literary works, including novels such as "Coningsby" and "Sybil."
Another notable figure with the name Binyamin was Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl, an Austro-Hungarian writer and political activist who is considered the founder of modern Zionism. His book "Der Judenstaat" (The Jewish State), published in 1896, outlined his vision for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
People
Binyamin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Binyamin 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
Binyamin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Binyamin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,019 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Binyamin 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 336,363 US residents.
Is Binyamin a common name?
We classify Binyamin as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,032 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Binyamin most popular?
The single biggest year for Binyamin was 2024, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Binyamin is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Binyamin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Binyamin 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.