first name
BEN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 107,539 people named Ben, 76.9% reported their origin as White, 7.1% as Hispanic or Latino and 6.4% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are male (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Ben peaked in 1918, when 1,293 babies got the name.
At least 85,816 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Ben by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #145. The largest share of babies named Ben, 24.6%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Ben is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ben has been most common in Mississippi (2.8×), New Mexico (2.6×), and South Carolina (2.5×), and least common in District of Columbia (0.16×).
71,643 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Ben
Spelled almost the same
7 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ben, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Ben ranks #9,765 of 156,621, with 3,170 people. See Ben as a last name
Compare
🔎 BEN 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 2,809 Americans Rarer than 59.4% of us Peaked in 1918 with 1,293 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/ben/