Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Ben

Say it BEN 1 syllable

English · “son of the right/south, or son of days”

Loved in Bonn and Rostock. Common in Israel, Austria, Switzerland, and 5 more places. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 9 more places.

1 in 196 boys born in Ireland in 2025. Number 40 there.

Ben in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 2, common in 8, rare in 14.
Ben in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales487 (down)2025791 in 3,4423272020
Scotland160 (down)2025281 in 702942020
Northern Ireland149 (down)2025151 in 552652020
Ireland40 (down)20251211 in 196322020
North America
Ontario (province)503 (down)202424about 1 in 2,4954682019
Quebec (province)354 (up)202513about 1 in 2,2355282020
British Columbia (province)39920238about 1 in 1,6273992018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025Not listed2020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
New ZealandNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
Western Europe
France538 (down)2025801 in 3,7843822020
Netherlands249 (down)202563about 1 in 1,0562202020
Central Europe
Austria52 (down)20251621 in 235312020
Switzerland36 (down)20251421 in 25482020
Berlin (city)27 (down)202382about 1 in 18992018
Munich (city)46 (down)202528about 1 in 156332020
Cologne (city)15 (down)202347about 1 in 13672018
Bonn (city)8202532about 1 in 9982020
Leipzig (city)15 (down)202521about 1 in 13792020
Rostock (city)5 (up)202512about 1 in 8772020
Nordic countries
NorwayRare: below the complete list20253942020
Sweden144 (up)202569about 1 in 6252032020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Italy1,181 (new in the list)202461 in 31,560Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland445 (down)202551 in 25,2814042020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
Israel (published as בן)62 (down)2024315about 1 in 270482019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. Israel publishes names in Hebrew script; the original is shown beside the name. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Ben is usually a short form of Benjamin and, less often, of Benedict, and it has long been given as a name on its own. Benjamin comes from the Hebrew Binyamin, whose meaning is read in two ways: either "son of the right" or "son of the south", or else "son of days". In the Bible, Benjamin is the youngest son of Jacob.

2 more paragraphs

A single syllable, BEN, it is short, friendly and easy in any language. Benjamin, Benedict and Bennett are the longer names it sits alongside.

Ben is popular in Switzerland, Austria and Israel, and in Ireland it sits inside the top 40. It is falling in most places where it is used, although in France it reached its peak around 2020.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
BEN · 1 syllable
Meaning
“son of the right/south, or son of days”
Origin
English and Hebrew
Related names
Benedikt, Benjamin, Bennett, Benedek, Baruch, Bené, Bendik, Benedetto, Benedict, Benedictus, Benon, Benoît, Barack, Benito, Bennet, Bendicht, Bénédict
Where Ben comes from (Wiktionary)

A shortening of Benjamin or, less often, Benedict. Benjamin is from Hebrew Binyamin, literally "son of the right/south or son of days"; authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Ben. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ben over time

Rising in 2 of the 19 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 11. Peak in France: 2020.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Ben in England and Wales: #34 in 1996, a peak of #21 in 2002, and #487 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300#1,000200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #34, 2,332 boys1997: #30, 2,572 boys1998: #29, 2,640 boys1999: #31, 2,485 boys2000: #31, 2,400 boys2001: #31, 2,403 boys2002: #21, 3,190 boys2003: #26, 2,904 boys2004: #27, 2,749 boys2005: #32, 2,204 boys2006: #38, 1,845 boys2007: #48, 1,585 boys2008: #57, 1,339 boys2009: #65, 1,069 boys2010: #73, 924 boys2011: #97, 667 boys2012: #118, 536 boys2013: #140, 423 boys2014: #156, 364 boys2015: #165, 350 boys2016: #206, 272 boys2017: #234, 229 boys2018: #274, 182 boys2019: #325, 143 boys2020: #327, 141 boys2021: #348, 128 boys2022: #371, 114 boys2023: #447, 89 boys2024: #509, 77 boys2025: #487, 79 boys#34 in 1996peak #21, 2002#487in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996342,332
1997302,572
1998292,640
1999312,485
2000312,400
2001312,403
2002213,190
2003262,904
2004272,749
2005322,204
2006381,845
2007481,585
2008571,339
2009651,069
201073924
201197667
2012118536
2013140423
2014156364
2015165350
2016206272
2017234229
2018274182
2019325143
2020327141
2021348128
2022371114
202344789
202450977
202548779

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Ben in France since 1925 were born in or after 2011. Peak: 2020, about 42 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 0.3 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 0 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 0 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 0 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 1.2 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 1.6 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 3 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 4.3 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 6 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 4 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 4.2 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 4.2 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 4 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 6.3 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 7.7 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 13 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 17.6 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 25.5 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 29.9 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 37.3 per 100,000 boys20202025: 26.4 per 100,000 boys20252020-2024: about 1 in 2,680 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19290.3
1930–19340
1935–19390
1940–19440
1945–19491.2
1950–19541.6
1955–19593
1960–19644.3
1965–19696
1970–19744
1975–19794.2
1980–19844.2
1985–19894
1990–19946.3
1995–19997.7
2000–200413
2005–200917.6
2010–201425.5
2015–201929.9
2020–202437.3
202526.4

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Ben

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Ben, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 224, Ireland

  2. 1 in 214, Ireland

  3. 1 in 78, Austria

  4. 1 in 91, Norway

  5. 1 in 651, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 64, Austria

  7. 1 in 255, Scotland

  8. 1 in 289, Ireland

  9. 1 in 99, Northern Ireland

  10. 1 in 949, Ireland

All 40 brother names for Ben

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Ben's 1 syllable and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 105, Ireland

  6. 1 in 130, Scotland

  7. 1 in 62, Poland

  8. 1 in 136, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Ben Oliver

Syllables 1-3Initials B.O.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Ben

Sisters for Ben: Naomi, Gabriella, Kate, and 5 more
  1. NaomiRose and fell with Ben · Same generation as Ben
  2. GabriellaRose and fell with Ben · Same generation as Ben
  3. KateRose and fell with Ben · Same generation as Ben
  4. MayaRose and fell with Ben · Same generation as Ben
  5. HopeRose and fell with Ben · English, like Ben
  6. HannahRose and fell with Ben · Same generation as Ben
  7. LeahRose and fell with Ben · As common as Ben
  8. AliyahRose and fell with Ben · Same generation as Ben

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Ben

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Ben's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 15 more places.

  2. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 15 more places.

  3. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

  4. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 12 more places.

  5. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 15 more places.

  6. Rare in England and Wales, Italy, Poland, and 9 more places.

  7. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

  8. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 9 more places.

Famous people named Ben

Ben Affleck, Ben Jonson, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Ben

How popular is Ben in Ireland?

Ben ranked #40 in Ireland in 2025, given to 121 boys, about 1 in 196.

Is Ben rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 2 of the 19 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 11. Rising in: Quebec and Sweden.

What does Ben mean?

Ben means “son of the right/south, or son of days”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Ben have?

Ben has 1 syllable: BEN.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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