Etymology
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. 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. 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. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".
Proper noun
Benjamin (countable and uncountable, plural Benjamins)
- (biblical) The youngest of the sons of Jacob and Rachel in the Bible.
- :
- And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
1908, George Bernard Shaw, Getting Married:What about the youngest child - the Benjamin - the child of its parents' mature strength and charity, always better treated than the unfortunate eldest children of their youthful ignorance and wilfulness?
- A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
2007, Mark Schreiber, Starcrossed, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN, page 53:"Well, who the hell ever thinks some boy with a name like Benjamin is going to kill someone?" I said. "It's like someone named Winnie the Pooh taking hostages!"
- A small city, the county seat of Knox County, Texas, United States.
- A surname transferred from the given name.
Translations
the youngest son of Jacob
male given name
- Albanian: Beniamín m, Benijamín m, Benjamín m, Veniamín m
- Amharic: ቢንያም (binyam)
- Arabic: بِنْيَامِين m (binyāmīn), بَنْيَامِين m (banyāmīn)
- Armenian: Բենիամին (Beniamin)
- Catalan: Benjamí m
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 本傑明/本杰明 (zh) (Běnjiémíng)
- Czech: Benjamín m
- Danish: Benjamin
- Esperanto: Benjameno
- Finnish: Benjamin (fi), Penjami
- French: Benjamin (fr) m
- Galician: Benxamín (gl) m
- German: Benjamin (de) m
- Greek: Βενιαμίν (el) (Veniamín)
- Hawaiian: Peniʻamina
- Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין (he) m (binyamin)
- Hindi: बेंजामिन (beñjāmin)
- Hungarian: Benjámin (hu)
- Icelandic: Benjamín (is) m
- Italian: Beniamino (it) m
- Japanese: ベンジャミン (Benjamin)
- Korean: 베냐민 (benyamin), 벤자민 (benjamin)
- Latin: Benjamin, Beniamin
- Latvian: Benjamīns m, Bendžamins m
- Lithuanian: Benjaminas (lt) m
- Macedonian: Бенџамин m (Bendžamin), Венјамин m (Venjamin)
- Malay: Bunyamin
- Maltese: Benjaminu m
- Maori: Peneāmine, Penamene
- Norman: Benjamîn m
- Norwegian: Benjamin (no)
- Persian: بنجامین (fa) (benjâmin), بنیامین (fa) (benyâmin)
- Polish: Beniamin (pl) m
- Portuguese: Benjamim (pt) m
- Romanian: Benjamin
- Russian: Вениами́н (ru) m (Veniamín), Бе́нджамин (ru) m (Bɛ́ndžamin)
- Sámi: Benjáme
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: Бењамин m
- Roman: Benjamin m
- Slovak: Benjamín m
- Spanish: Benjamín (es) m
- Swedish: Benjamin (sv)
- Tamil: பென்யமீன் (peṉyamīṉ)
- Telugu: బెంజమిన్ (beñjamin)
- Turkish: Bünyamin, Benyamin
- Yiddish: בנימין m (binyomen)
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Noun
Benjamin (plural Benjamins)
- (US slang, often in the plural) A $100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
- Synonyms: Ben, Ben Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Franklin
1994, “One More Chance”, in Ready to Die, performed by The Notorious B.I.G.:Fuck the past, let's dwell on the 500SL, the E&J and ginger ale / The way my pockets swell to the rims with Benjamins
2006 April 12, Dean Ornish, “Health Care: It's All About the Benjamins”, in Newsweek, archived from the original on 2006-11-28:Health Care: It's All About the Benjamins [title]
Usage notes
- Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money.
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Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɛn.jaːˌmɪn/
- Hyphenation: Ben‧ja‧min
Proper noun
Benjamin m
- Benjamin (Biblical character, mythological son of Jacob)
- a male given name
Proper noun
Benjamin m
- (biblical) Benjamin
- a male given name
Usage notes
Patronymics
- son of Benjamin: Benjaminsson
- daughter of Benjamin: Benjaminsdóttir
Declension
|
Singular |
|
Indefinite |
Nominative |
Benjamin |
Accusative |
Benjamin |
Dative |
Benjamini |
Genitive |
Benjamins |
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbenjɑmin/, [ˈbe̞njɑ̝min]
- Rhymes: -enjɑmin
- Syllabification(key): Ben‧ja‧min
Proper noun
Benjamin
- Benjamin (Biblical figure)
1933, Bible, Genesis 35:18:Mutta kun hänen henkensä oli lähtemäisillään, sillä hänen oli kuoltava, antoi hän hänelle nimen Benoni, mutta hänen isänsä antoi hänelle nimen Benjamin.- And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
- a male given name
1923, Frans Hjalmar Nortamo, Helmikoristeinen kirjanmerkki, WSOY (1947), John 20:24-25, page 33:Rovasti oli sitä paitsi arvellut olevan parasta, että Penua tästä lähtien ruvettaisiin kutsumaan Kustaaksi, koska nimi Benjamin ja sen lyhennys Penu varmasti antaisi hänen koulutovereilleen aihetta pilan tekoon ja härnäilemiseen.- Furthermore, the provost had said that it would be best that Penu should be called Kustaa from this onwards, because the name Benjamin and its shorter form Penu would certainly give his schoolmates a cause to bantering and bullying.
Declension
More information nominative, genitive ...
Inflection of Benjamin (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) |
nominative |
Benjamin |
Benjaminit |
genitive |
Benjaminin |
Benjaminien |
partitive |
Benjaminia |
Benjamineja |
illative |
Benjaminiin |
Benjamineihin |
|
singular |
plural |
nominative |
Benjamin |
Benjaminit |
accusative |
nom. |
Benjamin |
Benjaminit |
gen. |
Benjaminin |
genitive |
Benjaminin |
Benjaminien |
partitive |
Benjaminia |
Benjamineja |
inessive |
Benjaminissa |
Benjamineissa |
elative |
Benjaminista |
Benjamineista |
illative |
Benjaminiin |
Benjamineihin |
adessive |
Benjaminilla |
Benjamineilla |
ablative |
Benjaminilta |
Benjamineilta |
allative |
Benjaminille |
Benjamineille |
essive |
Benjaminina |
Benjamineina |
translative |
Benjaminiksi |
Benjamineiksi |
abessive |
Benjaminitta |
Benjamineitta |
instructive |
— |
Benjaminein |
comitative |
See the possessive forms below. |
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More information first-person singular possessor, singular ...
first-person singular possessor |
|
singular |
plural |
nominative |
Benjaminini |
Benjaminini |
accusative |
nom. |
Benjaminini |
Benjaminini |
gen. |
Benjaminini |
genitive |
Benjaminini |
Benjaminieni |
partitive |
Benjaminiani |
Benjaminejani |
inessive |
Benjaminissani |
Benjamineissani |
elative |
Benjaministani |
Benjamineistani |
illative |
Benjaminiini |
Benjamineihini |
adessive |
Benjaminillani |
Benjamineillani |
ablative |
Benjaminiltani |
Benjamineiltani |
allative |
Benjaminilleni |
Benjamineilleni |
essive |
Benjamininani |
Benjamineinani |
translative |
Benjaminikseni |
Benjamineikseni |
abessive |
Benjaminittani |
Benjamineittani |
instructive |
— |
— |
comitative |
— | Benjamineineni |
second-person singular possessor |
|
singular |
plural |
nominative |
Benjaminisi |
Benjaminisi |
accusative |
nom. |
Benjaminisi |
Benjaminisi |
gen. |
Benjaminisi |
genitive |
Benjaminisi |
Benjaminiesi |
partitive |
Benjaminiasi |
Benjaminejasi |
inessive |
Benjaminissasi |
Benjamineissasi |
elative |
Benjaministasi |
Benjamineistasi |
illative |
Benjaminiisi |
Benjamineihisi |
adessive |
Benjaminillasi |
Benjamineillasi |
ablative |
Benjaminiltasi |
Benjamineiltasi |
allative |
Benjaminillesi |
Benjamineillesi |
essive |
Benjamininasi |
Benjamineinasi |
translative |
Benjaminiksesi |
Benjamineiksesi |
abessive |
Benjaminittasi |
Benjamineittasi |
instructive |
— |
— |
comitative |
— | Benjamineinesi |
first-person plural possessor |
|
singular |
plural |
nominative |
Benjaminimme |
Benjaminimme |
accusative |
nom. |
Benjaminimme |
Benjaminimme |
gen. |
Benjaminimme |
genitive |
Benjaminimme |
Benjaminiemme |
partitive |
Benjaminiamme |
Benjaminejamme |
inessive |
Benjaminissamme |
Benjamineissamme |
elative |
Benjaministamme |
Benjamineistamme |
illative |
Benjaminiimme |
Benjamineihimme |
adessive |
Benjaminillamme |
Benjamineillamme |
ablative |
Benjaminiltamme |
Benjamineiltamme |
allative |
Benjaminillemme |
Benjamineillemme |
essive |
Benjamininamme |
Benjamineinamme |
translative |
Benjaminiksemme |
Benjamineiksemme |
abessive |
Benjaminittamme |
Benjamineittamme |
instructive |
— |
— |
comitative |
— | Benjamineinemme |
second-person plural possessor |
|
singular |
plural |
nominative |
Benjamininne |
Benjamininne |
accusative |
nom. |
Benjamininne |
Benjamininne |
gen. |
Benjamininne |
genitive |
Benjamininne |
Benjaminienne |
partitive |
Benjaminianne |
Benjaminejanne |
inessive |
Benjaminissanne |
Benjamineissanne |
elative |
Benjaministanne |
Benjamineistanne |
illative |
Benjaminiinne |
Benjamineihinne |
adessive |
Benjaminillanne |
Benjamineillanne |
ablative |
Benjaminiltanne |
Benjamineiltanne |
allative |
Benjaminillenne |
Benjamineillenne |
essive |
Benjamininanne |
Benjamineinanne |
translative |
Benjaminiksenne |
Benjamineiksenne |
abessive |
Benjaminittanne |
Benjamineittanne |
instructive |
— |
— |
comitative |
— | Benjamineinenne |
third-person possessor |
|
singular |
plural |
nominative |
Benjamininsa |
Benjamininsa |
accusative |
nom. |
Benjamininsa |
Benjamininsa |
gen. |
Benjamininsa |
genitive |
Benjamininsa |
Benjaminiensa |
partitive |
Benjaminiaan Benjaminiansa |
Benjaminejaan Benjaminejansa |
inessive |
Benjaminissaan Benjaminissansa |
Benjamineissaan Benjamineissansa |
elative |
Benjaministaan Benjaministansa |
Benjamineistaan Benjamineistansa |
illative |
Benjaminiinsa |
Benjamineihinsa |
adessive |
Benjaminillaan Benjaminillansa |
Benjamineillaan Benjamineillansa |
ablative |
Benjaminiltaan Benjaminiltansa |
Benjamineiltaan Benjamineiltansa |
allative |
Benjaminilleen Benjaminillensa |
Benjamineilleen Benjamineillensa |
essive |
Benjamininaan Benjamininansa |
Benjamineinaan Benjamineinansa |
translative |
Benjaminikseen Benjaminiksensa |
Benjamineikseen Benjamineiksensa |
abessive |
Benjaminittaan Benjaminittansa |
Benjamineittaan Benjamineittansa |
instructive |
— |
— |
comitative |
— | Benjamineineen Benjamineinensa |
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Proper noun
Benjamin
- genitive singular of Benjam
Statistics
- Benjamin is the 154th most common male given name in Finland, belonging to 4,102 male individuals (and as a middle name to 8,073 more), and also belongs to 6 female individuals (and as a middle name to 14 more, making it more common as a middle name), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɛnjaˌmiːn/, /-ˌmɪn/
- Hyphenation: Ben‧ja‧min
Further reading
- “Benjamin” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Benjamin” in Duden online