Ben

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Ben is a masculine given name. It is often short for Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson, and Ebenezer. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as Ben or bin, Ibn/ebn. Ben is a Chinese surname.

From Wikipedia

Ben first appears in the data in 1975 and has been recorded in 34 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1981 with 284 babies (rank #46 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Ben

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Ben yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

3Destiny numberThe creativeExpressive, sociable, lifted by playful energy.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
5Soul urgeThe free spiritCurious, restless, energised by change.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
7PersonalityThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

5,243

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

284

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Star Wars: Ben Solo / Kenobi — two Bens, one galaxy
In Friends: Ben Geller — Ross's son
In Parks and Recreation: Ben Wyatt — state auditor, Leslie's husband

Famous people named Ben

Ben Affleckpoker player · b. 1972
Ben Jonsonbretteur · b. 1572
Ben Kingsleyfilm actor · b. 1943
Ben Roy Mottelsonnuclear physicist · b. 1926
Ben Fosterassociation football player · b. 1983

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with B

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1975	37	#112
1976	185	#65
1977	225	#58
1978	200	#62
1979	251	#52
1980	239	#52
1981	284	#46
1982	229	#57
1983	235	#56
1984	248	#55
1985	216	#57
1986	184	#63
1987	216	#58
1988	211	#64
1989	178	#73
1990	184	#73
1991	199	#69
1992	182	#75
1993	166	#81
1994	142	#89
1995	137	#88
1996	165	#80
1997	101	#95
1998	92	#95
1999	51	#106
2000	62	#107
2001	54	#108
2002	185	#73
2003	163	#85
2004	155	#86
2005	57	#111
2014	4	#316
2015	5	#276
2017	1	#1,040