Male name
Benjamin
91,220 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2004. Expression number: 5.
Origin
From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".From Wiktionary, entry “Benjamin”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2004: 5,144 births. 91,220 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. At its peak, it ranked 6th among boys' names in 2002. It is still given: 5,246 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 1989: 15,788 births. 829,312 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1970s to the 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 6th among boys' names in 2016. It is still given: 52,702 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 2007: 145 births. 3,975 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 52nd among boys' names in 2020. It really came into use around 1979. It is still given: 421 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 250,625 | 2012–2023 | 1st in 2012 |
| France | 152,645 | 1900–2025 | 11th in 1989 |
| Switzerland | 14,865* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Austria | 14,795 | 1984–2025 | 19th in 1989 |
| Quebec | 13,788 | 1980–2025 | 13th in 2010 |
| Berlin | 1,890 | 2012–2023 | 18th in 2012 |
| Belgium | 429 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: RENAPER, Nombres propios en Argentina, CC BY 4.0 (the registry doesn't record sex); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); 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.
5
freedom, change, movement
2 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 5 = 32 → 5
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
6
responsibility, harmony, commitment to others
5 + 1 + 9 = 15 → 6
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
2 + 5 + 1 + 4 + 5 = 17 → 8
- Digits missing from the name
- 3, 6, 7, 8
- 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.