Benedict is a masculine given name of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

origin, meaning "blessed".Benedict
Thinkbabynames.com

Etymologically Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

, it is derived from the Latin words ''bene'' ('good') and ''dicere'' ('speak'), i.e. "well spoken". The name was borne by Saint

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

(480–547), often called the founder of Western Christian monasticism.

Forms of Benedict in different languages

List of people with the given name Benedict, Benedikt, Bénédict, or Bennedict

For a complete list, see , , or .

Saints

(480–547), Italian monk, founder of the Benedictine order of monasticism *

Benedict of Aniane Benedict of Aniane (; ; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer who had a substantial impact on the religious practice of the Carolingian Empire. His feast day is ...

(747–821), Benedictine monk and monastic reformer *

Benedict Biscop Benedict Biscop ( – 690), also known as Biscop Baducing, was an Anglo-Saxon abbot and founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory (where he also founded the famous library) and was considered a saint after his death. It has been suggested that B ...

(628–690), Anglo-Saxon abbot * Benedict (bishop of Milan) (died 732), archbishop of Milan * Benedict of Szkalka (died 1012), Hungarian Benedictine monk * Benedict the Bridge-Builder (1184), also known as Bénézet *

Benedict the Moor Benedict the Moor (; 1526 – 4 April 1589), also known as Benedict of Palermo, Benedict the Black, or Benedict the African, was a Afro-Sicilian Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan friar. Born to enslaved Africans in San Fratello, he was freed at b ...

(1526–1589), also known as Benedict the Black *

Benedict Joseph Labre Benedict Joseph Labre, TOSF (, 25 March 1748 – 16 April 1783) was a French Third Order of Saint Francis, Franciscan tertiary, and Catholic Church, Catholic saint. Labre was from a well-to-do family near Arras, France. After attempting a monasti ...

(1748–1783), French Franciscan mendicant * Benedict Menni (1841–1914), Italian priest

Popes and antipopes

* Pope Benedict I (died 579), pope from 575 to 579 *

Pope Benedict II Pope Benedict II () was the bishop of Rome from 26 June 684 to his death on 8 May 685. Pope Benedict II's feast day is 7 May. Early life Benedict was born in Rome. It is possible that he was a member of the Savelli family, though this is not c ...

(635–685), pope in 684/685, also a saint *

Pope Benedict III Pope Benedict III (; died 17 April 858) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 29 September 855 to his death on 17 April 858. Early career Little is known of Benedict's life before his papacy. His father was named Peter. Bene ...

(died 858), pope from 855 to 858 * Pope Benedict IV (died 903), pope from 900 to 903 *

Pope Benedict V Pope Benedict V (; died 4 July 965) was the pope and ruler of the Papal States from 22 May to 23 June 964, in opposition to Leo VIII. He was overthrown by Emperor Otto I. His brief pontificate occurred at the end of a period known as the ''Saecu ...

(died 965), pope in 964, in opposition to Pope Leo VIII * Pope Benedict VI (died 974), pope in 973/974 * Pope Benedict VII (died 983), pope from 974 to 983 *

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII (; – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieval pope, he had strong aut ...

(died 1024), pope from 1012 to 1024 *

Pope Benedict IX Pope Benedict IX (; ), born Theophylactus of Tusculum in Rome, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States for three periods between October 1032 and July 1048 (1032–1044; 1045; 1047–1048). Aged about 20 when first elected, he may h ...

(1056), pope on three occasions between 1032 and 1048 *

Antipope Benedict X Benedict X (died 1073/1080), born Giovanni, was elected to succeed Pope Stephen IX on 5 April 1058, but was opposed by a rival faction that elected Nicholas II. He fled Rome on 24 January 1059 and is today generally regarded as an antipope.Mary ...

() *

Pope Benedict XI Pope Benedict XI (; 1240 – 7 July 1304), born Nicola Boccasini (Niccolò of Treviso), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 October 1303 to his death on 7 July 1304. Boccasini entered the Order of Preachers i ...

(1240–1304), pope from 1303 to 1304 * Pope Benedict XII (1342), pope from 1334 to 1342 *

Antipope Benedict XIII Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as () or Pope Luna, was an Aragonese nobleman who was antipope with the regnal name Benedict XIII during the Western Schism. Early life Pedro Martínez de Lu ...

(1328–1423) * Antipope Benedict XIV, the name used by two closely related minor antipopes of the 15th century *

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in ...

(1649–1730), pope from 1724 to 1730 *

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

(1675–1758), pope from 1740 to 1758 *

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

(1854–1922), pope from 1914 to 1922 *

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

(1927–2022), pope from 2005 to 2013

Other

* Benedict (archbishop of Edessa) (), first archbishop of Edessa of the Latin rite * Benedict (canon of St. Peter's) (12th century), religious and liturgical writer of Rome * Benedict of Bari (), monk and religious author * Benedict of Poland (1200–1280), Polish Franciscan friar, traveler, explorer, and interpreter * Benedict I of Jerusalem (1892–1980), Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem *

Benedict de Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

(1632–1677), Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi descent * Benedict Akwuegbu (born 1974), Nigerian footballer *

Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...

(1936–2015), Irish political scientist and historian of South East Asia * Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter (1665–1742), Austrian Baroque composer *

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

(1741–1801), American general who after 1779 shifted his allegiance to the British * Benedict Arnold (congressman) (1789–1849), American politician representing New York State * Benedict Balansa (1825–1891), French botanist * Benedict Birnberg (1930–2023), British solicitor and human rights campaigner * Benedict Campbell (born 1957), Canadian actor * Benedict Chifley (1885–1951), Australian Prime Minister *

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

(born 1976), English actor * Benedict Daswa (1946–1990), South African school principal and mob murder victim * Benedykt Dobszewicz (1722-1792), Lithuanian philosopher and physicist * Benedikt Doll (born 1990), German biathlete * Benedikt Dreyer (1495–1555), German sculptor, carver and painter* Benedict Erofeev (1938–1990), Russian writer and Soviet dissident * Benedict Fogelberg (1786–1854), Swedish sculptor * Benedict Friedlaender (1866–1908), German zoologist and sexologist * Benedict Goëz (1562–1697), Portuguese Jesuit missionary and explorer (Bento de Góis) * Benedict Gregorios (1916–1994), Metropolitan Archbishop of the Malankara Church * Benedict Gross (born 1950), American mathematician * Benedikt Hertel (born 1996), German bobsledder *

Bénédict Pierre Georges Hochreutiner Bénédict Pierre Georges Hochreutiner (1873-1959) was a Swiss botanist and plant taxonomist.Nationaal Herbarium NederlandBiographical page retrieved 2009-03-30 A native of St. Gallen, Saint-Gall, he studied theology and natural sciences in Genev ...

(1873–1959), Swiss botanist and plant taxonomist * Benedikt Höwedes (born 1988), German footballer * Benedict Iroha (born 1969), Nigerian footballer * Benedict Jackson (born 1967), English golfer * Benedikt Jóhannesson (born 1955), Icelandic publisher, businessman and politician * Benedict F. Kiernan (born 1953), American historian * Benedikt Kotruljević (1416–1469), Ragusan Renaissance humanist *

Benedikt Kuripečič Benedikt Kuripečič or Benedikt Kuripešić (, 1491–1531) was a 16th-century Slovene diplomat who recorded epic songs about Miloš Obilić. Kuripečič was born in Gornji Grad, Gornji Grad, Gornji Grad, then part of the Habsburg monarchy, Hab ...

(1491–1531), Slovene diplomat * Benedikt Lampert (born 1985), Liechtensteiner bobsledder * Benedikt Livshits (1887–1938), Russian poet, writer and translator*

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 1 ...

(1919–2007), Irish writer and broadcaster * Bennedict Mathurin (born 2002), Canadian basketball player * Benedict McCarthy (born 1977), South African footballer * Benedict Morel (1809–1873), French psychiatrist * Benedikt Niese (1849–1910), German classical scholar *

Benedikt Rejt Benedikt Rejt (often spelled Benedikt Ried; c. 1450 – between 1531 and 1536) was a leading medieval architect in Bohemia, today's Czech Republic. He built Vladislav Hall (1497–1500) in Prague Castle, St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora, (c. 14 ...

(1450–1533), Bohemian architect * Benedikt Roezl (1824–1885), Austrian botanist * Benedict Samuel (born 1988), Australian actor * Benedikt Schack (1758–1826), Bohemian composer and tenor * Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal (1924–2010), Prime Minister of Iceland * Benedict Stilling (1810–1879), German anatomist and surgeon * Benedict Wallet Vilakazi (1906–1947), South African Zulu poet, novelist, and educator * Benedikt Waldeck (1802–1870), Progressive Prussian politician * Benedict Wells (born 1984), German-Swiss novelist *

Benedict Wong Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He began his career on stage before starring in the film '' Dirty Pretty Things'' (2002), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, and the BBC sitcom '' 15 Storeys High ...

(born 1971), English actor

Fictional characters

*Benedict, a chicken villager from the

Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. It was created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. The player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals and can ...

series *Benedick, a character from Shakespeare's ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' * Benedict of Amber, from the '' Chronicles of Amber'' *Bénédict, the title character in Berlioz's opera '' Béatrice et Bénédict'' *Benedict Bridgerton, a character in the period drama

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American alternative history regency romance television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series Bridgerton (novel series), of the same name by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted ...

, as well as the novels the television series is based on

References

{{given name English masculine given names Masculine given names German masculine given names