Ben

BEN

A short, familiar name meaning “son of the right hand,” often understood as a sign of favor or good fortune.

Meaning

Ben is a familiar short form of Benjamin. In the excerpts, it is glossed from Hebrew as “son of the right hand,” and figuratively as “son of good fortune” or “prosperous.” It is also used as a standalone nickname, especially in English.

Origin

Fun fact

One excerpt notes that the nickname Ben was especially familiar in English, and that Benjamin was seen as an essentially Puritan and Jewish name.

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Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland, A list of Christian names, their derivatives, nicknames and equivalents in several languages, Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature.

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