How Many People Are Named Ben?
An estimated 41,427 people in the United States have the first name Ben. It is predominantly male (99.5%). The average bearer is 51 years old, and Ben peaked in popularity in 1918 with 1,293 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ben as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ben paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ben is overwhelmingly male, 467 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
41,427
About 1 in 8,274 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.5% confidence
Average Age
51
years old
Peak Year
1918
1,293 births
Total Registered
85,516
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ben
Ben is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 85,516 total births registered, 99.5% were male.
Ben as a male name
Ranked #801 in 2024
313 male births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (1,276 births)
Ben as a female name
Ranked #8,315 in 1982
7 female births in 1982
Peak: 1917 (20 births)
Ben: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ben span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 10,746 babies were registered. Ben has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ben by Decade
How has Ben tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,456 | 3,449 | 7 | |
| 1890s | 3,163 | 3,156 | 7 | |
| 1900s | 3,034 | 3,028 | 6 | |
| 1910s | 9,643 | 9,539 | 104 | |
| 1920s | 10,746 | 10,610 | 136 | |
| 1930s | 8,711 | 8,638 | 73 | |
| 1940s | 8,102 | 8,078 | 24 | |
| 1950s | 7,796 | 7,765 | 31 | |
| 1960s | 7,950 | 7,919 | 31 | |
| 1970s | 5,834 | 5,805 | 29 | |
| 1980s | 4,522 | 4,503 | 19 | |
| 1990s | 3,454 | 3,454 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 4,174 | 4,174 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 3,338 | 3,338 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 1,593 | 1,593 | 0 | |
Ben by State
Birth registrations for Ben span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, New York. The lowest are in Maine, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 1,519 Bens were registered per state.
Ben + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ben as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ben
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Ben: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ben?
We estimate approximately 41,427 people named Ben are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 8,274 Americans share this first name.
Is Ben a common name?
Ben is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 85,516 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ben most popular?
Ben reached peak popularity in 1918, when 1,293 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ben is approximately 51 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ben a male name?
Ben is predominantly male. 99.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ben Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ben Smith, Ben Johnson, Ben Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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