Male name
Ben
36,435 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2002. Expression number: 3.
Origin
Ben is the short form of Benjamin. Benjamin comes from Hebrew and means „son of my right hand“ or also „lucky child“, „son of comfort“ (whereby this variant referred to the last son of Jacob: at his birth Jacob's wife died, in her pain she wanted to name him Ben-Oni (son of mourning), but Jacob named him Benjamin). After this Benjamin the Israelite tribe Benjamin was named, see Benjamin (tribe).Translated by Arcanes from the German Wiktionary, entry “Ben”, text and translation under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Ben?
Send them the page about their name.
How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2002: 3,190 births. 36,435 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s and 2000s. At its peak, it ranked 21st among boys' names in 2002. It is still given: 487 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1918: 1,293 births. 85,816 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1910s to the 1980s. At its peak, it ranked 43rd among boys' names in 1889. It is still given: 1,574 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 2005: 401 births. 7,745 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 15th among boys' names in 2005. It really came into use around 1987. It is still given: 734 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 4,431* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Austria | 4,356 | 1984–2025 | 26th in 2018 |
| France | 3,335 | 1900–2025 | — |
| Berlin | 2,260 | 2012–2023 | 12th in 2012 |
| Quebec | 212 | 1980–2025 | — |
| Belgium | 78 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
3
expression, creativity, sociability
2 + 5 + 5 = 12 → 3
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
5
freedom, change, movement
5 = 5
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
7
reflection, inner life, seeking
2 + 5 = 7
- Digits missing from the name
- 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 5 · freedom, change, movement
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.