Benaiah
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- be-NY-a
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,286 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #1,169 for boys
Benaiah is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God has built”. In 2025 it ranked 1,286th for boys in the UK (23 babies) and 1,169th for boys in the US (176 babies).
What does Benaiah mean?
Hebrew: from Hebrew Benayahu
“God has built”
Benaiah, one of King David's mighty men, killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day.
Is Benaiah a girl's or a boy's name?
Benaiah is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 23 boys in the UK and 5 girls and 176 boys in the US.
How popular is Benaiah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,286among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 23about 1 in 13,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 96% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 23 boys in the UK were named Benaiah, making it the 1,286th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,562nd.
It has been given to more boys each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had the most boys named Benaiah of any year since it first appeared, in 1998.
Half of all the boys named Benaiah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2013 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,225th in England and Wales.
Benaiah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23 | #1,286 |
| 2024 | 14 | #1,825 |
| 2023 | 12 | #2,024 |
| 2022 | 11 | #2,143 |
| 2021 | 7 | #2,886 |
| 2020 | 8 | #2,562 |
| 2019 | 7 | #2,878 |
| 2018 | 10 | #2,234 |
| 2017 | 10 | #2,306 |
| 2016 | 8 | #2,690 |
| 2015 | 6 | #3,149 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,063 |
| 2013 | 10 | #2,176 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,382 |
| 2011 | 6 | #3,038 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 5 | #3,395 |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 3 | #4,486 |
| 2006 | 5 | #3,013 |
| 2005 | 1 | #5,109 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 3 | #3,021 |
How popular is Benaiah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,169among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 176about 1 in 9,700 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 10% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 176 boys in the US were named Benaiah, making it the 1,169th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,415th. It first appears in the records in 1976. 5 girls were also named Benaiah in 2025 (14,937th for girls).
2025 had the most boys named Benaiah of any year since it first appeared, in 1976.
Half of all the boys named Benaiah in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Benaiah in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 176 | #1,169 |
| 2024 | 159 | #1,243 |
| 2023 | 120 | #1,489 |
| 2022 | 133 | #1,393 |
| 2021 | 166 | #1,182 |
| 2020 | 122 | #1,415 |
| 2019 | 158 | #1,209 |
| 2018 | 134 | #1,343 |
| 2017 | 128 | #1,378 |
| 2016 | 128 | #1,382 |
| 2015 | 121 | #1,416 |
| 2014 | 97 | #1,608 |
| 2013 | 87 | #1,694 |
| 2012 | 95 | #1,625 |
| 2011 | 67 | #2,016 |
| 2010 | 61 | #2,168 |
| 2009 | 47 | #2,622 |
| 2008 | 41 | #2,878 |
| 2007 | 40 | #2,918 |
| 2006 | 35 | #3,082 |
| 2005 | 26 | #3,611 |
| 2004 | 16 | #5,002 |
| 2003 | 17 | #4,611 |
| 2002 | 16 | #4,697 |
| 2001 | 13 | #5,383 |
| 2000 | 13 | #5,290 |
| 1999 | 17 | #4,157 |
| 1998 | 13 | #4,868 |
| 1997 | 15 | #4,241 |
| 1996 | 17 | #3,824 |
| 1995 | 8 | #6,400 |
| 1994 | 10 | #5,446 |
| 1993 | 12 | #4,690 |
| 1992 | 7 | #6,662 |
| 1991 | 12 | #4,468 |
| 1990 | 7 | #6,408 |
| 1989 | 10 | #4,805 |
| 1988 | 6 | #6,420 |
| 1987 | 8 | #4,962 |
| 1986 | 5 | #6,715 |
| 1985 | 6 | #5,780 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 9 | #4,139 |
| 1982 | 7 | #5,001 |
| 1981 | 7 | #4,959 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 6 | #5,353 |
| 1978 | 6 | #5,056 |
| 1977 | 5 | #5,843 |
| 1976 | 7 | #4,416 |
Nicknames for Benaiah
- Ben 122 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Benaiah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ibrahim Musa Muhammad Isaiah Zakariya Abdullah Elijah Noah Matteo Eesa Ismail Josiah
Names related to Benaiah
More Hebrew names
Isabella James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias Mateo Elsie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Benaiah: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/benaiah, updated 20 October 2026.