Ben is the short form of Benjamin, the Hebrew name meaning "son of the right hand" or "son of the south", and also of Benedict, "blessed". It has long been used on its own in English, from Ben Jonson, Shakespeare's rival playwright, to Benjamin Franklin, who signed himself Ben. As a stand-alone name Ben has stayed in the US top 1000 since 2000, peaked at number 526 in 2004 and ranks number 843 in 2025.