Benjamin
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin. From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Benjamin (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Benjamin has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2015. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 201 |
| 1999 | 214 |
| 2000 | 228 |
| 2001 | 258 |
| 2002 | 340 |
| 2003 | 316 |
| 2004 | 309 |
| 2005 | 310 |
| 2006 | 338 |
| 2007 | 370 |
| 2008 | 387 |
| 2009 | 418 |
| 2010 | 450 |
| 2011 | 432 |
| 2012 | 405 |
| 2013 | 397 |
| 2014 | 452 |
| 2015 | 468 |
| 2016 | 434 |
| 2017 | 369 |
| 2018 | 389 |
| 2019 | 382 |
| 2020 | 347 |
| 2021 | 380 |
| 2022 | 348 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2,267 |
| 2000 | 2,506 |
| 2001 | 2,772 |
| 2002 | 3,118 |
| 2003 | 3,461 |
| 2004 | 3,788 |
| 2005 | 4,098 |
| 2006 | 4,470 |
| 2007 | 4,862 |
| 2008 | 5,310 |
| 2009 | 5,776 |
| 2010 | 6,270 |
| 2011 | 6,728 |
| 2012 | 7,177 |
| 2013 | 7,608 |
| 2014 | 8,107 |
| 2015 | 8,594 |
| 2016 | 9,086 |
| 2017 | 9,554 |
| 2018 | 9,964 |
| 2019 | 10,425 |
| 2020 | 10,813 |
Benjamin in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Benjamin.Hi! My name is Benjamin.
- Benjamin bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Benjamin lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Jag ska fika med Benjamin i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Benjamin this afternoon.
- Benjamins mamma är lärare.Benjamin's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Benjamins mamma is Benjamin's mum.
More names
Questions about Benjamin
How do you pronounce Benjamin in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Benjamin in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Benjamin mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin. From Late Latin Benjamin, from Ancient Greek Βενιαμίν (Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrew בִּנְיָמִין (binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabic بِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabic بِنْ يَمِين (bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age.
How popular is Benjamin in Sweden?
348 babies were named Benjamin in 2022. In 2020, 10,813 people in Sweden had Benjamin as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2015 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.