THE MEANING & THE CONTEXT
The story behind Benjamin
Benjamin is recorded as a male given name in Cebuano. The source gives a linguistic connection through English, specifically the form Benjamin. Quoted root glosses describe elements in the etymology, not an automatic translation of the complete personal name.
The etymology is not settled. The explanation above keeps the source’s uncertainty rather than assigning a definite meaning.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
English
- /ˈbɛnd͡ʒəmɪn/Canada · Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈbɛnd͡ʒəmɪn/General-American
- /ˈbɛnd͡ʒɚmɪn/General-American
- /ˈbɪnd͡ʒəmɪn/US · pin-pen-merger
- /ˈbɪnd͡ʒɚmɪn/US · pin-pen-merger
- /ˈbend͡ʒəmɪn/Australia
- /ˈbend͡ʒəmən/New-Zealand
Ben · ja · min3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Benjamin, from Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right [hand]”). Also from Spanish Benjamín.
a male given name from English or Spanish
Wiktionary: Benjamin (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".
A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
Wiktionary: Benjamin (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Benjamin
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Benjamin Abalos
Philippine politician
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Benjamin Romualdez
Filipino politician (1930–2012)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
69
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
20
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Benjamin Romualdez, Benjamin Abalos
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Benjamin in the birth records
Exact spelling, stated year, published top-ten tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Available publications: 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. No 2021 count is inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Benjamin
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Benjamín♂Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Bellarmin·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Benasing·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Benjie·Etymology uncertain; see source accounts
- Bensali·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Amin♂Name formation documented in dictionary sources
- Belbin·Recorded Philippine given-name form
- Belman·Recorded Philippine given-name form
What rhymes with Benjamin?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Recorded combinations with Benjamin
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Benjamin further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q2424149 — Benjamin (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Benjamin Romualdez (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q2424149 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Benjamin Abalos (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q2424149 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Benjamin (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Benjamin (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.