Boys' name · since 1884
Benjamen
3,687 babies named Benjamen in U.S. Social Security records since 1884, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #2,221 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9,734 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 3,687
- born since 1884
- 1980s
- peak decade
Benjamen currently ranks #9734 among boys' names in America, with 3,687 babies recorded since 1884.
Benjamen has 3,687 recorded births among boys since 1884, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #9734 as of the latest data, more common than 30% of boys, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1884 to 2025.
- #2,221 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #9,734 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 3,687 born since 1884
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Benjamen ranks #2,221 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,734 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 3,687 born since 1884, peaking in the 1980s.
- #2,221 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9,734 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 3,687
- born since 1884
- 1980s
- peak decade
Benjamen's 3,687 recorded births place it above 95.11% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
20 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Benjamen compares
3,687 Top 16% higher than 84% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Benjamen's all-time total is 10x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Benjamen | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 3,687 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 99 | 34 | 22,252 |
Benjamen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Benjamen splits its recorded history at 1967: 81% of all births land in the more recent half, 19% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1887 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1990 peak of 99 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Benjamen popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1884–2025
- Peak year (1990)
- 99
- Annual births at peak, across 142 years of records
Benjamen by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (776 births, 21% of the file).
1980s was Benjamen's strongest decade.
776 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Benjamen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 24
1880s
24 births
- 1890s 6
1890s
6 births
- 1900s 6
1900s
6 births
- 1910s 87
1910s
87 births
- 1920s 131
1920s
131 births
- 1930s 92
1930s
92 births
- 1940s 105
1940s
105 births
- 1950s 161
1950s
161 births
- 1960s 154
1960s
154 births
- 1970s
1970s
567 births
- 1980s
1980s
776 births
- 1990s
1990s
715 births
- 2000s
2000s
565 births
- 2010s 246
2010s
246 births
- 2020s 52
2020s
52 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 776 births (21% of all-time use).
How Benjamen compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Benjamen's total volume
Benjamen by state
Where Benjamen concentrates geographically, total births since 1884
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 149 | 4.0% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 85 | 2.3% |
| #3 | Texas | | 79 | 2.1% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 56 | 1.5% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 51 | 1.4% |
| #6 | Indiana | | 40 | 1.1% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 35 | 0.9% |
| #8 | Florida | | 27 | 0.7% |
149 of 3,687 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 20 reporting states.
Benjamen appears in 20 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Benjamen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Benjamen most popular? ▼
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What to do with Benjamen's data
- Benjamen's decade-level peak was the 1980s (776 total births); usage has since declined to 52 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Benjamens (149 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Benjamen
Nearby Names Like Benjamen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Benjamen
Compare Benjamen side by side: Benjamen vs Benjamin Benjamen vs Ben Benjamen vs Bennett
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Benjamen
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Benjamen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1990)
Similar record span (~141 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1884–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Benjamen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.