Benjamin (name)

Benjamin is a popular given name for males, derived from Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין‬, Binyāmīn, translating as "Son of my right [hand]", though in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the name appears as ࠁࠍࠉࠌࠉࠌ, "Binyaamem" "Son of my days". It is often shortened to Ben, and sometimes to Benny, or Benji. Benjamin is also a patronymic surname. Like many biblical names, it is popular in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths alike, having many variant forms in other languages.

The "Benjamin of the family" is a phrase used in several languages to refer to the youngest son—especially when he is much younger than his brothers; sometimes the name is chosen for a son born to mature parents unlikely to have more children, especially if he has several older siblings. Both of these usages derive from the biblical son of Jacob of that name, who occupied that position in his family.

Given name

Notable people with the name Benjamin or its variant spellings include:

• Benjamin I of Constantinople (1871–1946)
• Benjamin II (1818–1864), the pen name of a Romanian traveller
• Pope Benjamin II of Alexandria (1327–1339), Coptic Pope
• Benjamin (Khazar), ruler of the late 9th and early 10th centuries
• Saint Benjamin (disambiguation), multiple people
• Ben Affleck (b. 1972), American film screenwriter, director and actor
• Benjamin Agosto (b. 1982), American figure skater
• Ben Barnes (actor) (b. 1981), British actor, Prince Caspian
• Ben Bernanke (b. 1953), former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve
• Benjamin Biolay (b. 1973), French singer, songwriter, producer and actor
• Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), British composer
• Benjamin Burnley (b. 1978) Lead singer of American rock band Breaking Benjamin
• Benjamin Butler (1818–1893) American lawyer, politician, soldier and businessman
• Benjamin Chee Chee (1944–1977), Canadian artist
• Benjamin Constant (1767–1830), Swiss-born French politician
• Benjamin Constant (Brazil) (1836–1891), Brazilian general and politician
• Benjamin Cutting (born 1987), Australian cricketer
• Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), a 19th-century Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
• Benjamin Graham (1894-1976), Investor, economist, and professor. known as father of value investing
• Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), 23rd President of the United States
• Ben Hogan (1912–1997), American professional golfer
• Benjamin Kallos (b. 1981), American lawyer and politician
• Benjamin Kimutai (b. 1971), Kenyan long-distance runner
• Benjamin Leiner (Benny Leonard; the "Ghetto Wizard"; 1896–1947), American world champion lightweight Hall of Fame boxer
• Benjamin Luxon (b. 1937), British baritone singer
• Benjamin McKenzie (b. 1978), American actor
• Benjamin Milam Teekell (1867–1942), American politician
• Benjamin K. Miller (judge), American judge
• Benjamin Mwangata (b. 1966), Tanzanian boxer
• Benjamin Netanyahu (b. 1949) Israeli Prime Minister
• Benjamin Nolot, American documentary filmmaker
• Benjamin Okolski, American figure skater
• Benjamin of Tudela, 12th-century Spanish rabbi
• Benjamin Peltonen, Finnish recording artist, known mononymously as Benjamin
• Benjamin Perrin, Canadian professor
• Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner (born 1984) - 2008 Gold Medal Olympic swimmer and former world record holder
• Benjamin (Benji) Ungar (b. 1986), American fencer
• Benjamin Wade (1800–1878), American lawyer and US Senator
• Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1941), American linguist, known for contributing to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
• Benjamin Yusupov (b. 1962), Israeli classical composer, conductor and pianist
• Benjamin Zephaniah, poet and writer
• Benjamin Zhang Bin, mainland Chinese Manhua artist and illustrator
• Benjamin Shapiro, 21st century American conservative intellectual
• Benjamin Smoke, Canadian actor
• Benyamin Sueb (1939–1995), Indonesian actor
• Benjamin Tee, Singaporean scientist and innovator
• Benjamin Zendel, Canadian psychologist

Surname

• Adam Benjamin, Jr. (1935–1982), American politician
• Adam Benjamin (musician), American musician
• Albert Benjamin (1909–2006), Scottish bridge player
• Andre Benjamin (born 1975), American musician and actor; co-founder of Outkast
• Arthur Benjamin (1893–1960), Australian composer
• Asher Benjamin (1773–1845), American architect
• Collin Benjamin (born 1978), Namibian footballer
• Emmanuel Benjamin (born 1955), Indian cricketer
• François Benjamin (born 1962), Canadian politician
• Floella Benjamin (born 1949), British actor and businesswoman
• George Benjamin (composer) (born 1960), British composer
• Georges C. Benjamin (born 1952), American public health official
• H. Jon Benjamin (born 1966), American comedian and actor
• Harry Benjamin (1885–1986), German-born American sexologist
• J. J. Benjamin (1818–1864), Romanian-Jewish historian and traveller
• Jessica Benjamin (born 1946), American feminist and psychoanalyst
• Joel Benjamin (born 1964), American chess grandmaster
• John Benjamin (disambiguation)
• Jon Benjamin (disambiguation)
• Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884), American politician
• Kelvin Benjamin (born 1991), American football wide receiver
• Leanne Benjamin (born 1964), ballet dancer (Royal Ballet, London)
• Lucy Benjamin (born 1970), actress
• Miles Benjamin (born 1988), English rugby union player
• Quanteisha Benjamin (born 1991–92), Canadian singer
• Regina Benjamin (born 1956), 18th Surgeon General of the United States
• René Benjamin (1885–1948), French author
• Rich Benjamin, American journalist and writer
• Richard Benjamin (born 1938), actor
• Rick Benjamin (disambiguation), multiple people
• Ryan Benjamin (disambiguation), multiple people
• Shelton Benjamin (born 1975), American wrestler
• Stan Benjamin (1914–2009), American professional baseball player
• Trevor Benjamin (born 1979), English-born Jamaican footballer
• Walter Benjamin (1892–1940), philosopher, literary critic & writer
• Zoe Benjamin (1882–1962), born Sophia Benjamin, Australian early childhood educator

Variants

• Arabic: البلسمينة (Binyamin)
• Bengali: বেঞ্জামিন (Bēñjāmina)
• Chinese: 本杰明 (Běnjiémíng)
• Czech: Benjamín
• Dutch: Benjamin
• French: Benjamin
• German: Benjamin
• Greek: Βενιαμίν (Veniamín)
• Hawaiian: Peni
• Hebrew: Binyamin
• Hindi: बेंजामिन (benjaamin)
• Hungarian: Benjámin
• Icelandic: Benjamín
• Irish: Benjamin
• Italian: Beniamino
• Latin: Benjamin
• Japanese: ベンジャミン (Benjamin)
• Korean: 벤자민 (benyamin)
• Lithuanian: Benjaminas, Benas
• Macedonian: Бенџамин (Bendžamin), Venijamin
• Norwegian: Benjamin
• Portuguese: Benjamim
• Romanian: Beniamin
• Russian: Вениамин (Veniamin, Venyamin)
• Slovak: Benjamín
• Spanish: Benjamín
• Swedish: Benjamin
• Turkish: Bünyamin

See also

• All pages beginning with Benjamin