73,647 Global Benjamin Family Members

Benjamin Family History

Benjamin is mainly a patronymic surname which derives from the personal name of an ancestor, and as such means 'the son of Benjamin'.

It is a relatively common surname amongst Jewish families, as it derives from the Hebrew 'son of the right hand', but it also became popular, initially as a given name, in Britain because of its Biblical associations. In some cases Benn and Benson may be a variation of this surname.

In England, hereditary surnames, such as Benjamin, had been established by around 1400. In Wales, fixed surnames emerged much later, between the 16th and 19th centuries, and therefore for Welsh families, the surname would relate back to the given name of an ancestor who lived during that particular period.

Some of the earliest references to this surname include Catering fil. (the son of) Benjamini of Suffolk, and Robert Benjamin of Bedfordhshire, both of whom were recorded on the 1273 Hundred Rolls.

Although not one of the most common of surnames, by the mid-19th century there were nevertheless some notable Benjamin surname clusters in Wales, in particular in parts of Cardiganshire, Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire.

Notable people

• Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, DBE, DL (b. 1949) a Trinidadian-British actress, author, television presenter, singer, businesswoman and politician. In 2010 she was the first actress to become a peer in the House of Lords.
• Lucy Benjamin (born Lucy Jane Baker, 1970) is an English actress best known for playing Lisa Fowler in the BBC soap opera Eastenders.

 

SOURCES:

1851 census

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Dictionary of Given Names with Origins and Meanings (1934) by Flora Haines Loughead