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 1996 and has been recorded in 21 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 2002 with 3,190 babies (rank #21 that year). It was not in the 2024 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.

35,253

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

3,190

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
1996	2,332	#34
1997	2,572	#30
1998	2,640	#29
1999	2,485	#31
2000	2,400	#31
2001	2,403	#31
2002	3,190	#21
2003	2,904	#26
2004	2,749	#27
2005	2,204	#32
2006	1,845	#38
2007	1,585	#48
2008	1,339	#57
2009	1,069	#65
2010	924	#73
2011	667	#97
2012	536	#118
2013	423	#140
2014	364	#157
2015	350	#165
2016	272	#206