Details for the forename Benjamin

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Benjamin (male)


Variants:	Beathan (M) Beathen (M) Beniaminus (M) Benyamin (M) Binyamin (M) Venyamin (M)
Diminutive(s):	Ben (M) Benj (M)
Pet Name(s):	Bengie (M) Benji (M) Benjy (M) Bennie (M) Benny (M)
Lesser Synonym(s):	Bean (M)
Can be spelt:	Banjeman (M) Bengiman (M)
Feminine form:	Benjamina (F)

Source(s):	English Parish Register freereg.rootsweb.com FreeCEN 1841 Census of Aberdeenshire The Oxford Names Companion, OUP "Scottish Forenames" - Donald Whyte, FGH, FSG Chambers Dictionary [2003]
Notes:	English, from Ancient Hebrew originally "son of my sorrow" and later changed to "son of the right hand"(meaning "son of good fortune"); OT Genesis 35:16-18 & 42:4. Several alternative spellings of Benjamin occur in the 1841 Census of Aberdeenshire. The most frequent are listed above. All should be found with a Soundex search but some are close variants of Bengiman which might require a separate Soundex search. The Gaelic name Beathan, "life", may be Anglicized as Bejamin or Bean which are therefore classed as lesser synonyms. Beniaminus was used for Benjamin in old documents in Latin, with appropriate case endings.