Benjamin (name)

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Benjamin

Portrait of Benjamin, son of Israel and the first to use that name
Pronunciation	/ˈbɛndʒəmɪn/
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/name	בִּנְיָמִין Binyāmīn
Meaning	"Son of my right hand"
Other names
Nickname(s)	Ben, Benny, Benzino, Biniam, Benjy, Benji, Benjie, Bengie, Benj, Benson, Benvolio, Benno, Benny Jamino, or Benjo

Benjamin is a popular given name for males, derived from Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין‎, Binyāmīn, translating as "son of the right [hand]", though in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the name appears as "Binyaamem": "son of my days".^[1][2]

Benjamin is often shortened to Ben, sometimes to Benny, Benj, or Benji. It is also a patronymic surname. Like many biblical names, it is popular in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths alike, having many variant forms in other languages.

The "Benjamin of the family" is a phrase used in several languages to refer to the youngest son—especially when he is much younger than his brothers.^[3] Sometimes the name is chosen for a son born to mature parents unlikely to have more children, especially if he has several older siblings. Both of these usages derive from the biblical son of Jacob of that name, who occupied that position in his family. In some languages, by extension, it is also applied to the runt of a litter of animals.^{[citation needed]}

Alternate versions of the name exist for females, like Benjamina or Benjawan (used by some actresses and models in Thailand).

Given name[]

Notable people with the name Benjamin or its variant spellings include:

• Benjamin II (1818–1864), the pen name of a Romanian traveller
• Pope Benjamin II of Alexandria (1327–1339), Coptic Pope
• Benjamin (Khazar), ruler of the late 9th and early 10th centuries
• Saint Benjamin (disambiguation), multiple people
• Ben Affleck (born 1972), American film screenwriter, director and actor
• Benjamin Agosto (born 1982), American figure skater
• Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), American author and surveyor
• Ben Barnes (actor) (born 1981), British actor, Prince Caspian
• Ben Bernanke (born 1953), former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve
• Benjamin Biolay (born 1973), French singer, songwriter, producer and actor
• Benjamin Breedlove (1993–2011), American YouTube and internet personality
• Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), British composer
• Benjamin Burnley (born 1978), lead singer of American rock band Breaking Benjamin
• Benjamin Butler (1818–1893), American lawyer, politician, soldier and businessman
• Benjamin Carrigan (born 1998), Australian association football player
• Benjamin Chee Chee (1944–1977), Canadian artist
• Benjamin Constant (1767–1830), Swiss-born French politician
• Benjamin Constant (Brazil) (1836–1891), Brazilian general and politician
• Benjamin Cutting (born 1987), Australian cricketer
• Benjamin Diskin (born 1982), American voice actor
• Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), a 19th-century Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Benjamin W. Fortson IV, American linguist
• Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
• Benjamin Graham (1894–1976), investor, economist, and professor
• Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), 23rd President of the United States
• Ben Hogan (1912–1997), American professional golfer
• Ben Jonson (1572–1637), English playwright and poet, in his time second only to Shakespeare
• Benjamin Kallos (born 1981), American lawyer and politician
• Benjamin Kimutai (born 1971), Kenyan long-distance runner
• Benjamin H. Kline (1894–1974), American cinematographer and film director
• Benjamin Lambert (1937–2014), American optometrist and politician
• Benjamin Lay (1682–1759), Anglo-American abolitionist, activist, and humanitarian
• Benjamin Leiner (Benny Leonard; the "Ghetto Wizard"; 1896–1947), American world champion lightweight Hall of Fame boxer
• Benjamin Luxon (born 1937), British baritone singer
• Benjamin Mazar (1906–1995), Israeli historian and archeologist; President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Benjamin McKenzie (born 1978), American actor
• Benjamin K. Miller (judge) (born 1938), American judge
• Benjamin Mkapa (1938–2020), 3rd President of Tanzania
• Benjamin Mwangata (born 1966), Tanzanian boxer
• Benjamin Netanyahu (born 1949), Israeli Prime Minister
• Benjamin Nolot, American documentary filmmaker
• Benjamin of Tudela, 12th-century Spanish rabbi
• Benjamin Okolski, American figure skater
• Benjamin Orr (1947–2000), bass guitarist and singer-songwriter of The Cars
• Benjamin Peltonen, Finnish recording artist, known mononymously as Benjamin
• Benjamin Franklin Perera, Sri Lankan Sinhala diplomat
• Benjamin Perrin, Canadian professor
• Benjamin Rush (1746–1813), American politician, revolutionary, humanitarian, physician, educator, and founder of Dickinson College
• Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena (1904-1971), Sri Lankan politician
• Benjamin Shapiro (born 1984), American conservative political commentator
• Benjamin Smoke (1960–1999), American musician
• Benjamin St-Juste (born 1997), Canadian-American football player
• Benyamin Sueb (1939–1995), Indonesian actor
• Benjamin Tee, Singaporean scientist and inventor
• Benjamin Timbrell (c. 1683–1754), English master builder and architect
• Benjamin (Benji) Ungar (born 1986), American fencer
• Benjamin de Vries (born 1923), Dutch-Israeli economic historian
• Benjamin Wade (1800–1878), American lawyer and US Senator
• Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1941), American linguist, known for contributing to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
• Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner (born 1984), 2008 Gold Medal Olympic swimmer and former world record holder
• Benjamin Yusupov (born 1962), Israeli classical composer, conductor and pianist
• Benjamin Zendel, Canadian psychologist
• Benjamin Zephaniah (born 1958), British poet and writer
• Benjamin Zhang Bin (born 1974), mainland Chinese Manhua artist and illustrator

Fictional characters[]

• Benjamin, a donkey from George Orwell's novel Animal Farm
• Benjamin, in The Walking Dead television series
• Benjamin the Elephant (original German name Benjamin Blümchen), the main character of the same named television series
• Benjamin Bunny, Peter Rabbit's cousin in The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
• Benjamin Button, the title character of both The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story) and film
• Benjamin Franklin Parker, known as Uncle Ben, from Marvel Comics's Spider-Man
• Principal Benjamin Krupp, the school principal from Captain Underpants
• Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, the main character from the M*A*S*H novels, the film and the television series
• Benjamin Richards/Ben Richards, main character in the 1987 movie The Running Man
• Benjamin Sisko, Commanding Officer of Deep Space Nine in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine television series
• Benjamin Stilton, Geronimo Stilton's nephew and a main character in the Geronimo Stilton book series
• Benjamin Kirby Tennyson (better known as Ben or Ben 10) from Cartoon Network's Ben 10 franchise
• Gentle Ben, bear character created by Walt Morey, in the children's book and 1967 television series of the same name and the 1967 film Gentle Giant

Surname[]

• Adam Benjamin Jr. (1935–1982), American politician
• Adam Benjamin (musician), American musician
• Albert Benjamin (1909–2006), Scottish bridge player
• Andre Benjamin (born 1975), American musician and actor; co-founder of Outkast
• Arthur Benjamin (1893–1960), Australian composer
• Asher Benjamin (1773–1845), American architect
• Collin Benjamin (born 1978), Namibian footballer
• Emmanuel Benjamin (born 1955), Indian cricketer
• Eno Benjamin (born 1999), American football player
• François Benjamin (born 1962), Canadian politician
• Floella Benjamin (born 1949), British actor and businesswoman
• George Benjamin (composer) (born 1960), British composer
• Georges C. Benjamin (born 1952), American public health official
• H. Jon Benjamin (born 1966), American comedian and actor
• Harry Benjamin (1885–1986), German-born American sexologist
• J. J. Benjamin (1818–1864), Romanian-Jewish historian and traveller
• Jessica Benjamin (born 1946), American feminist and psychoanalyst
• Joel Benjamin (born 1964), American chess grandmaster
• John Benjamin (disambiguation), several people
• Jon Benjamin (disambiguation), several people
• Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884), American politician
• Kelvin Benjamin (born 1991), American football wide receiver
• Leanne Benjamin (born 1964), Australian ballet dancer
• Lewis Saul Benjamin (1874–1932), birth name of English author Lewis Melville
• Lucy Benjamin (born 1970), British actress
• Melanie Benjamin (author), pen name of American writer Melanie Hauser (born 1962)
• Miles Benjamin (born 1988), English rugby union player
• Quanteisha Benjamin (born 1991/92), Canadian singer
• Regina Benjamin (born 1956), 18th Surgeon General of the United States
• René Benjamin (1885–1948), French author
• Rich Benjamin, American journalist and writer
• Richard Benjamin (born 1938), American actor and film director
• Rick Benjamin (disambiguation), several people
• Ryan Benjamin (disambiguation), several people
• Shelton Benjamin (born 1975), American wrestler
• Simeon Benjamin (1792–1868), American businessman, philanthropist, and benefactor of Elmira College
• Stan Benjamin (1914–2009), American professional baseball player
• Trevor Benjamin (born 1979), English-born Jamaican footballer
• Walter Benjamin (1892–1940), German philosopher, literary critic and writer
• Zoe Benjamin (1882–1962), born Sophia Benjamin, Australian early childhood educator

Fictional characters[]

• Judy Benjamin, main character in the 1980 film Private Benjamin

Variants[]

• Arabic: بنيامين (Binyamin)
• Bengali: বিনয়ামিন, বিন ইয়ামিন, বনিয়ামিন, বেঞ্জামিন/বেনজামিন (Binyamin, Bin yeamin, Boniamin , Benjamin/Benzamin)
• Chinese: 本杰明 (Běnjiémíng)
• Czech: Benjamín
• Dutch: Benjamin
• Ethiopia: Biniyam
• Eritrea: Biniyam
• French: Benjamin
• German: Benjamin
• Greek: Βενιαμίν (Veniamín)
• Hawaiian: Peni
• Hebrew: בנימין (binyameen)
• Hindi: बेंजामिन (benjaamin)
• Hungarian: Benjámin
• Icelandic: Benjamín
• Indonesian: Benyamin
• Irish: Benjamin
• Italian: Beniamino
• Latin: Benjamin
• Japanese: ベンジャミン (Benjamin)
• Korean: 벤자민 (benyamin)
• Lithuanian: Benjaminas, Benas
• Macedonian: Бенџамин, Венјамин (Bendžamin, Venyamin)
• Norwegian: Benjamin
• Portuguese: Benjamim
• Romanian: Benjamin
• Russian: Вениамин (Veniamin, Venyamin)
• Slovak: Benjamín
• Spanish: Benjamín
• Swedish: Benjamin
• Telugu: బెన్యామీను (Benyaminu)
• Turkish: Bünyamin, Benyamin
• Yiddish: Binyomin

See also[]

• All pages with titles beginning with Benjamin
• Benjamina (name)

References[]

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
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