Benny
Benny was given to 293 boys in 2025, #841 among boys’ names; 49,144 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 27,000 Americans named Benny and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 39 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Benny by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Benny mean?
Wiktionary, Swedish section
Benny is “a male given name borrowed from English”
Meaning: Wiktionary, Swedish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Benny?
#841 among boys’ names, 2025
Benny rose from #1,438 in 2015 to #841 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.06 to 0.17 per 1,000.
1,074 babies in 1948, the peak
Benny peaked in 1948, when 1,074 babies were given it (1,065 boys, #189 among boys’ names). The 325 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 30% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 293 | #841 | 0.17 |
| 2024 | 267 | #888 | 0.15 |
| 2023 | 209 | #1,044 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 211 | #1,045 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 217 | #1,008 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 170 | #1,144 | 0.10 |
| 2019 | 161 | #1,189 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 148 | #1,244 | 0.08 |
| 2017 | 131 | #1,360 | 0.07 |
| 2016 | 122 | #1,422 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 118 | #1,438 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 140 | #1,273 | 0.07 |
| 2013 | 142 | #1,245 | 0.08 |
| 2012 | 135 | #1,293 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 149 | #1,186 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 153 | #1,179 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 149 | #1,212 | 0.08 |
| 2008 | 155 | #1,166 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 193 | #1,002 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 193 | #963 | 0.09 |
| 2005 | 167 | #1,012 | 0.08 |
| 2004 | 181 | #934 | 0.09 |
| 2003 | 161 | #983 | 0.08 |
| 2002 | 193 | #859 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 165 | #941 | 0.08 |
| 2000 | 192 | #833 | 0.10 |
| 1999 | 158 | #924 | 0.08 |
| 1998 | 172 | #846 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 166 | #850 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 179 | #800 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 182 | #793 | 0.10 |
| 1994 | 156 | #855 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 207 | #718 | 0.11 |
| 1992 | 204 | #721 | 0.10 |
| 1991 | 201 | #711 | 0.10 |
| 1990 | 203 | #711 | 0.10 |
| 1989 | 211 | #682 | 0.11 |
| 1988 | 192 | #678 | 0.10 |
| 1987 | 211 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1986 | 212 | #613 | 0.12 |
| 1985 | 213 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1984 | 211 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1983 | 214 | #576 | 0.12 |
| 1982 | 288 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1981 | 292 | #490 | 0.16 |
| 1980 | 297 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1979 | 339 | #436 | 0.20 |
| 1978 | 318 | #446 | 0.19 |
| 1977 | 300 | #465 | 0.18 |
| 1976 | 285 | #464 | 0.18 |
| 1975 | 325 | #437 | 0.21 |
| 1974 | 344 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1973 | 303 | #451 | 0.19 |
| 1972 | 348 | #424 | 0.21 |
| 1971 | 370 | #418 | 0.21 |
| 1970 | 384 | #415 | 0.21 |
| 1969 | 397 | #399 | 0.22 |
| 1968 | 404 | #386 | 0.23 |
| 1967 | 398 | #373 | 0.23 |
| 1966 | 458 | #349 | 0.26 |
| 1965 | 514 | #334 | 0.28 |
| 1964 | 592 | #320 | 0.30 |
| 1963 | 637 | #315 | 0.31 |
| 1962 | 752 | #279 | 0.36 |
| 1961 | 719 | #290 | 0.34 |
| 1960 | 784 | #282 | 0.37 |
| 1959 | 845 | #273 | 0.40 |
| 1958 | 873 | #262 | 0.41 |
| 1957 | 873 | #255 | 0.40 |
| 1956 | 884 | #245 | 0.42 |
| 1955 | 822 | #245 | 0.40 |
| 1954 | 914 | #233 | 0.45 |
| 1953 | 897 | #224 | 0.45 |
| 1952 | 896 | #223 | 0.46 |
| 1951 | 926 | #213 | 0.49 |
| 1950 | 875 | #215 | 0.49 |
| 1949 | 969 | #206 | 0.55 |
| 1948 | 1,065 | #189 | 0.61 |
| 1947 | 1,061 | #191 | 0.58 |
| 1946 | 1,003 | #184 | 0.62 |
| 1945 | 822 | #187 | 0.61 |
| 1944 | 897 | #181 | 0.66 |
| 1943 | 960 | #176 | 0.67 |
| 1942 | 877 | #180 | 0.63 |
| 1941 | 835 | #181 | 0.68 |
| 1940 | 814 | #179 | 0.70 |
| 1939 | 864 | #172 | 0.78 |
| 1938 | 823 | #179 | 0.74 |
| 1937 | 760 | #179 | 0.71 |
| 1936 | 732 | #181 | 0.71 |
| 1935 | 678 | #190 | 0.65 |
| 1934 | 684 | #187 | 0.66 |
| 1933 | 595 | #198 | 0.60 |
| 1932 | 593 | #210 | 0.57 |
| 1931 | 601 | #210 | 0.58 |
| 1930 | 533 | #237 | 0.49 |
| 1929 | 483 | #255 | 0.45 |
| 1928 | 460 | #265 | 0.42 |
| 1927 | 429 | #272 | 0.38 |
| 1926 | 399 | #286 | 0.36 |
| 1925 | 394 | #289 | 0.35 |
| 1924 | 415 | #279 | 0.37 |
| 1923 | 346 | #305 | 0.32 |
| 1922 | 299 | #339 | 0.27 |
| 1921 | 316 | #333 | 0.29 |
| 1920 | 272 | #362 | 0.26 |
| 1919 | 275 | #340 | 0.28 |
| 1918 | 282 | #342 | 0.28 |
| 1917 | 223 | #377 | 0.24 |
| 1916 | 196 | #396 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 210 | #371 | 0.25 |
| 1914 | 144 | #396 | 0.22 |
| 1913 | 122 | #382 | 0.24 |
| 1912 | 87 | #418 | 0.20 |
| 1911 | 50 | #404 | 0.22 |
| 1910 | 47 | #376 | 0.24 |
| 1909 | 31 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1908 | 37 | #383 | 0.24 |
| 1907 | 41 | #332 | 0.28 |
| 1906 | 31 | #387 | 0.23 |
| 1905 | 27 | #411 | 0.20 |
| 1904 | 18 | #520 | 0.14 |
| 1903 | 17 | #528 | 0.14 |
| 1902 | 13 | #615 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 17 | #470 | 0.16 |
| 1900 | 31 | #402 | 0.21 |
| 1899 | 13 | #551 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 18 | #487 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 12 | #620 | 0.11 |
| 1896 | 16 | #519 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 10 | #692 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 9 | #735 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 9 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 9 | #755 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 6 | #851 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 7 | #816 | 0.06 |
| 1889 | 5 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 6 | #926 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 10 | #590 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 13 | #516 | 0.12 |
| 1885 | 9 | #649 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 5 | #983 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 5 | #953 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Benny a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 49,144 Americans recorded as Benny, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 32 girls and 293 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Benny: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Benny, and how old are they?
27,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 49,144 Americans ever recorded as Benny. The median Benny alive today is 62 years old; half are between 39 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 26,165 people named Benny (411 women and girls, 25,754 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 29,648 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,900 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 10,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,140 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,210 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,640 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,400 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Benny born?
The states with the most babies named Benny are Texas, California and New York, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 6,144 | #893 | 1.9× |
| California | 4,754 | #639 | 1.3× |
| New York | 2,975 | #919 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 2,267 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 2,098 | #596 | 1.4× |
| Alabama | 1,786 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Tennessee | 1,663 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Illinois | 1,493 | #1,311 | 0.6× |
| Oklahoma | 1,383 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Louisiana | 1,370 | #790 | 1.4× |
Where Benny is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Benny is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 3.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Benny with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 112,582 babies since 1880, Benny is the second most given (44% of them). In 2025 it was given to 325 of their 479 babies (68%), the most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Benny
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Benny and names like it
- Compare Benny and BennieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sBenny peaked in 1948.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Benny since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Benny: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1948The year the most babies were named Benny.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Benny alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.