Benjamin

Benjamin meaning

Benjamin is a Christian and international boy's name of Hebrew origin.

Son of the right hand

Benjamin comes from the Hebrew Binyamiyn. Strong's Concordance builds it from ben, "son", and yamiyn, "the right hand", giving "son of the right hand". In Genesis Benjamin is the youngest of Jacob's twelve sons and the second son of Rachel, who died giving birth to him; as she was dying she named him Ben-oni, "son of my sorrow", but Jacob called him Benjamin (Genesis 35:18). He became the ancestor of the tribe of Benjamin, to which King Saul and, in the New Testament, the apostle Paul belonged. Name lists give the same meaning as Strong's. In India the name is used in Christian families and is often shortened to Ben.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H1144 · entry Binyamiyn · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's Hebrew 1144, Binyamiyn (Bible Hub) · Genesis 35 (KJV, Bible Hub) · Philippians 3:5 (KJV, Bible Hub)

Famous namesakes

• Benjamin, youngest son of Jacob (Genesis 35)

Popularity abroad

• #11 United States, boys 2025 (same as 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #61 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

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