The name Benjamin is taken from the Hebrew name "Binyamin" the name means "Son of Right", this name is also in general stands for "Son of my Right Hand". However in many rabbinical traditions, the name stands for "Son of the Right Side of the Body" or as the "Son of the South". Some of the famous people who have their name as Benjamin are; 'Benjamin Agosto', Judah P. Benjamin and Pope Benjamin II of Alexandria.
The name Benjamin was also the name of Jacob and Rachel's son. He was born on the road which lied between Bethel and Ephrath; this is now identified as Bethlehem. Benjamin's mother passed away as the result of child birth.
Benjamin, means "son of the right", was the youngest son amongst Jacob and Rachel's twelve children.
He was born few moments before his mother's death, during childbirth. Rachel announced his name as "Ben-oni" meaning 'child of my pain', which was later changed by his father to "Benjamin". Pronounced as 'bin-yamin' – meaning "son of right", later took the meaning – "son of my right hand". Benjamin's elder brother, Joseph, was sold and sent off to be a slave and later considered to be dead. While he was gone -- Jacob showered Benjamin with all the love and care. So deep was Jacob's love for his son that he never parted from Benjamin.
Years later, Joseph returned and was reunited with his family. He felt a surge of parental love for his youngest brother. He wept with joy when he saw Benjamin, even though Benjamin failed to recognize him. Benjamin was innocent with no part to play with Joseph's becoming a slave, however he received a rather modest blessing from, Jacob, his dying father – "Benjamin is ravening wolf, in morning he devours the prey, in the evening he snatches a share of the spoil". (Genesis 49:27).
A very popular male first name and it means, "son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age." Benjamin was the 12th, youngest and most beloved son of the patriarch Jacob and Rachel. In the Middle Ages, it was often given to sons whose mothers had died in childbirth, though it has no such connotations today.
Ben is the short form; Benjie, Bennie, and Benny are pet forms. Variant forms of Benjamin are Ben, Benejamen, Beniamino, Benjaman, Benjamen, Benjamino, Benjamon, Benjee, Benjey, Benji, Benjie, Benjiman, Benjimen, Benjy, Benn, Bennie, Benno etc.
Famous bearers of this name are 19th century British statesman Benjamin Disraeli. Dustin Hoffman's character in the 1967 movie, 'The Graduate. Other renowned personalities include, Diplomat and inventor Benjamin Franklin; US President Benjamin Harrison; jazz musician Benny Goodman; pediatrician and oracle Benjamin Spock; British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli; actor Benjamin Bratt.
The word 'Benjamin' is used both as a last name and as a first name and in both forms the word is quite popular. The word can trace its origin in Hebrew and the meaning that you can figure out from the word is that of the 'son of the right hand; son of my old age; son of the south'. In Biblical context the name can be attributed to the youngest and twelfth son of Jacob and Rachel and originally the son was named as Benoni but later it changed into Benjamin.
The name was being popularised during the period of middle ages but in that period the name was being given to those children whose mother had lost their lives during childbirth, though nothing relevant to this phenomenon is found in any text.
