Benjamin

39,477 people in the United States were counted with the surname Benjamin in the 2020 census, making it the 855th most common in the country. That is about one person in 7,571.

By the numbers

People: 39,477
Rank: 855th
How common: 1 in 7,571
Per 100,000: 13.2

Where the name comes from

Origin a given name

From Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν, from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין. 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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Who bears the name

How people with the surname Benjamin described their own race and Hispanic origin at the 2020 census:

White, not Hispanic 45.0%
Black, not Hispanic 42.0%
Hispanic or Latino 4.6%
Two or more races, not Hispanic 4.3%
Asian or Pacific Islander, not Hispanic 3.2%
American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic 0.9%

Notable people called Benjamin

Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)German cultural critic, philosopher and social critic
Rai Benjamin (born 1997)American sprinter and hurdler
H. Jon Benjamin (born 1966)American actor
Shelton Benjamin (born 1975)American professional wrestler
Alec Benjamin (born 1994)American singer-songwriter
Richard Benjamin (born 1938)American actor and film director
Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884)American politician and lawyer
Medea Benjamin (born 1952)American political activist and author

People named Benjamin with articles in the most Wikipedia languages. Data from Wikidata (CC0).

Surnames like Benjamin

Also a first name

Benjamin has been given to 829,312 American babies as a first name since 1880, peaking in 1989. See it as a given name.

Try it on yourself

Source: US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Surnames, 2020. The Census describes the file as the surnames borne by 100 or more people; rarer names are not published. The line is not quite exact, and 617 published names come in under it, the smallest at 92 people. Race and Hispanic origin are self-reported. Rates are worked out against the 298.9 million people the file's own figures are calculated on, which is fewer than the census counted in all: the difference is everyone whose surname was too rare to publish.