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From Late LatinBenjamin, from Ancient GreekΒενιαμίν(Beniamín), from Biblical Hebrewבִּנְיָמִין(binyamīn, literally “son of the right/south or son of days”). Authorities differ on the meaning of the original Hebrew. Philo of Alexandria, the Samaritan Pentateuch The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs and Midrash Leḳaḥ-Ṭob understand יָמִין to mean "days" (a meaning attested in Daniel 12:13) understanding the name to mean "son of days (i.e. old age)" (compare to the direct translations into Arabicبِنْ يَومِين (bin yawmīn) "son of the days" and Arabicبِنْ يَمِين(bin yamīn) "son of the right hand"), a formula paraphrased in Genesis 40:22 where Benjamin is described as a child of Jacob's old age. Rashi in his commentary on Genesis also gives this as a possible meaning but favors an understanding of יָמִין to mean "right" in the sense of "the south", noting that Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born in the south. Jerome understood the name to mean "son of the right hand" and Gesenius speculated that this expression might have meant "son of good fortune".
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
1908, George Bernard Shaw, Getting Married:
What about the youngest child - the Benjamin - the child of its parents' mature strength and charity, always better treated than the unfortunate eldest children of their youthful ignorance and wilfulness?
"Well, who the hell ever thinks some boy with a name like Benjamin is going to kill someone?" I said. "It's like someone named Winnie the Pooh taking hostages!"
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Mutta kun hänen henkensä oli lähtemäisillään, sillä hänen oli kuoltava, antoi hän hänelle nimen Benoni, mutta hänen isänsä antoi hänelle nimen Benjamin.
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
1923, Frans Hjalmar Nortamo, Helmikoristeinen kirjanmerkki, WSOY (1947), John 20:24-25, page 33:
Rovasti oli sitä paitsi arvellut olevan parasta, että Penua tästä lähtien ruvettaisiin kutsumaan Kustaaksi, koska nimi Benjamin ja sen lyhennys Penu varmasti antaisi hänen koulutovereilleen aihetta pilan tekoon ja härnäilemiseen.
Furthermore, the provost had said that it would be best that Penu should be called Kustaa from this onwards, because the name Benjamin and its shorter form Penu would certainly give his schoolmates a cause to bantering and bullying.
Benjamin is the 154th most common male given name in Finland, belonging to 4,102 male individuals (and as a middle name to 8,073 more), and also belongs to 6 female individuals (and as a middle name to 14 more, making it more common as a middle name), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.