Ben Franklin 250th 1956 issue-3c.jpg

Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right.

Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, אברהם בן אברהם). Bar-, "son of" in Aramaic, is also seen, e.g. Simon bar Kokhba ( he, שמעון בר כוכבא).

Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin'' (بن), ''Ibn''/''ebn'' (ابن).

People with the given name

* Ben Adams (born 1981), member of the British boy band A1
* Ben Affleck (born 1972), American Academy Award-winning actor and screenwriter
* Ben Ashkenazy (born 1968/69), American billionaire real estate developer
* Ben Askren (born 1984), American sport wrestler and mixed martial artist
* Ben Banogu (born 1996), American football player
* Ben Barba (born 1989), Australian rugby player
* Ben Barnes (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Bartch (born 1998), American football player
* Ben Bartlett, British composer
* Ben Becker (born 1964), German actor
* Ben Bernanke (born 1953), American chair of the Federal Reserve Bank
* Ben Bishop (born 1986), American ice hockey player
* Ben Bradlee (1921–2014), American newspaper editor
* Ben Braun (born 1953), American basketball coach
* Ben Bredeson (born 1999), American football player
* Ben Browder (born 1962), American actor
* Ben Burman (1896–1984), American author
* Ben Burr-Kirven (born 1997), American football player
* Ben Carson (born 1951), American surgeon and politician
* Ben Carter (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Chase (1923–1998), American football player
* Ben Chilwell (born 1996), English footballer
* Ben Cleveland (born 1998), American football player
* Ben Clime (1891–1973), American football player
* Ben Cohen (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Coleman (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Collins, American screenwriter
* Ben Cousins (born 1978), Australian rules footballer
* Ben Crenshaw (born 1952), American golfer
* Ben Crompton (born 1974), English actor
* Ben Cross (1947–2020), English actor
* Ben Curtis (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Cutting (born 1987), Australian cricketer
* Ben Daley (born 1988), Australian rugby player
* Ben Davis (born 2000), Thai footballer
* Ben DiNucci (born 1996), American football player
* Ben Domenech (b. 1982), American news commentator, publisher of ''The Federalist''
* Ben Eager (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey player
* Ben Edwards (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Eisenhardt (born 1990), American-Israeli basketball player
* Ben Ellefson (born 1996), American football player
* Ben Fayot (born 1937), Luxembourgian politician
* Ben Feldman (actor) (born 1980), American actor
* Ben Folds (born 1966), American singer-songwriter
*Ben Fordham (born 1976), Australian journalist, sports reporter and radio presenter
* Ben Franklin (1706-1790), Prominent figure in the American Revolution
* Ben Garland (born 1988), American football player
* Ben Gedeon (born 1994), American football player
* Ben Gibbard (born 1976), American lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie
* Ben Gibson (born 1993), English footballer
* Ben Gillies (born 1979), Australian drummer of Silverchair
* Ben Godfrey (born 1998), English footballer
* Ben Gordon (born 1983), British-born American basketball player
* Ben Gottschalk (born 1992), American football player
* Ben Guez (born 1987), American baseball player
* Ben Hannant (born 1984), Australian rugby player
* Ben Harper (born 1969), American musician
* Ben Harvey (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Hogan (1912–1997), American golfer
* Ben Helfgott (born 1929), Polish-born British weightlifter
* Ben Howard (born 1987), British singer/songwriter
* Ben Hunt (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Jackson (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Jeby (1909–1985), American boxer
* Ben Jelen (born 1979), American singer
* Ben Johns (born 1999), an American professional pickleball player
* Ben Johnson (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Jonson (1572–1637), English poet
* Ben Kane (born 1970), English novelist
* Ben Kasica, American musician, lead guitarist for Skillet
* Ben Keays (born 1997), Australian rules footballer
* Ben E. King (1938–2015), American soul and R&B singer
* Ben Kingsley (born 1943), British actor
* Murder of Ben Kinsella, Ben Kinsella (1991–2008), British murder victim
* Ben Knapen (born 1951), Dutch politician and journalist
* Ben Kweller (born 1981), American rock musician
* Ben Lawson (born 1980), Australian actor
* Ben Leber (born 1978), American football player
* Ben Lowe (born 1985), Australian rugby player
* Ben Mason (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Mendelsohn (born 1969), Australian actor
* Ben Miller (born 1966), English actor and comedian
* Ben Moody (born 1981), American musician
*Ben Moore (basketball), Ben Moore (born 1995), American basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Ben Roy Mottelson (1926–2022), Danish American physicist
* Ben Mulroney (born 1976), Canadian television personality
* Ben Murdoch-Masila (born 1991), New Zealand rugby player
* Ben Navarro (born 1962/1963), American billionaire, founder and CEO of Sherman Financial Group
* Ben Needham (1989–1991), British infant who disappeared in Greece
* Ben Needham (American football), American football linebacker
* Ben Nicholson (1894–1982), English artist
* Ben Niemann (born 1995), American football player
* Ben Ownby, American kidnap victim
* Ben J. Pierce (born 1999), American YouTuber, singer-songwriter, and actor
* Ben Plucknett (1954–2002), American discus thrower
* Ben Powers (American football) (born 1997), American football player
* Ben Richards (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Roethlisberger (born 1982), American football player
* Ben Sahar (born 1989), Israeli footballer
* Ben Schwartz (born 1981), American actor
* Ben Selvin (1898–1980), American jazz musician and bandleader
* Ben Shneiderman (born 1947), American computer scientist
* Ben Simmons (born 1996), Australian basketball player
* Ben Shapiro (born 1984), American conservative political commentator
* Ben Sheets (born 1978), American baseball player
* Ben Silverman (golfer) (born 1987), Canadian golfer
* Ben Skowronek (born 1997), American football player
* Ben Smith (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Spijkers (born 1961), Dutch judoka
* Ben Stein (born 1944), American law professor, economist, writer and actor
* Ben Stiller (born 1965), American actor, writer and director
* Ben Swagerman (born 1959), Dutch politician
* Ben Talley (born 1972), American football player
* Ben Tapper, American social media influencer and chiropractor
* Ben Templeton (born 1940), American co-creator of the comic strip Motley's Crew
* Ben Te'o (born 1987), New Zealand rugby player
* Ben Thatcher (born 1975), English footballer
* Ben Tulfo (born 1955), Filipino television and radio personality
* Ben Underwood (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Unwin (1977–2019), Australian actor
* Ben Vautier (born 1935), French artist
* Ben Verweij (1895–1951), Dutch footballer
* Ben Wallace (basketball), Ben Wallace (born 1974), American basketball player
* Ben Wanger (born 1997), American-Israeli baseball pitcher, Team Israel
* Ben Way (born 1980), English entrepreneur
* Ben Whishaw (born 1980), English actor
* Ben Wildman-Tobriner (born 1984), American swimmer
* Ben Wilson (disambiguation), multiple people
* Ben Woodburn (born 1999), Welsh footballer
* Ben (South Korean singer) (born 1991), South Korean singer

Fictional characters

* Ben, a character in the 2007 Canadian-American television series ''Sushi Pack''
* Ben, a character in the 2009 American romantic comedy-drama movie ''He's Just Not That Into You (film)#Cast, He's Just Not That Into You''
* Ben, a rat in Ben (film), the eponymous movie, and Ben (song), theme song sung by Michael Jackson on his LP ''Ben''
* Benjamin Florian/Ben, a protagonist of the Descendants (franchise), Descendants franchise (2015–2019)
* Gentle Ben, a bear featured in an eponymous 1965 novel, and in television and movie adaptations
* Soldier Boy, Ben C. L. / Soldier Boy, major character in the third season of ''The Boys''
* Ben Harper (My Family), Ben Harper, major character in the comedy series ''My Family''
* Ben Kenobi, an alias of Obi-Wan Kenobi, major character in the film saga, ''Star Wars''
* Ben Lawson/BEN, an antagonist of the ''Ben Drowned'' series (2010-20)
* Ben, or Benny, the "Lego Space#"Classic" Space (1978–1987), 1980-something space guy" from ''The Lego Movie''
* Old Ben, a bear at the center of the William Faulkner story ''The Bear''
* Ben Packer, one of the five main protagonists in ''Bureau of Alien Detectors''
* Uncle Ben, Ben Parker, the uncle of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) from ''Marvel Comics''
* Ben, minor character of ''The Grudge 3''
* Ben, Bill's brother in ''The Railway Series'' and the spinoff TV series ''Thomas and Friends''
* Ben Richards, main character of ''The Running Man (1987 film), The Running Man''
* Stuart Gibbs, Ben Ripley, a major protagonist of the young-adult series, Spy School
* Ben Skywalker, a major character in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe
* Ben Solo, major character in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy
* Ben Tennyson, protagonist of the Cartoon Network's ''Ben 10'' media franchise
* Ben Urich, investigative journalist for ''The Daily Bugle'' in the Marvel Universe
* Ben Wyatt (Parks and Recreation), Ben Wyatt, character from ''Parks and Recreation''
* Talking Ben, a protagonist of the ''Talking Tom and Friends'' media franchise
* Ben Taylor from Postman Pat
* List of The Umbrella Academy characters#Ben Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves, main character in the comic book/Netflix series ''The Umbrella Academy''
* Ben Elf, the titular protagonist in the British cartoon Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom

See also

*
*Special:search/~"Ben", All pages containing ''Ben''

{{given name

Masculine given names
Hebrew-language surnames
English masculine given names
Hypocorisms