Beniah
A Hebrew masculine name meaning "Yahweh has built".
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the first name Beniah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beniah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beniah births was 2015 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beniah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Beniah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
151
~ 1 in 2,269,896 Americans
Peak year
2015
14 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,801
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Beniah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beniah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 85 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Beniah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beniah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Beniah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Beniah
The name Beniah has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew words "ben" meaning "son" and "Yah" referring to the Hebrew name for God. The combination of these words suggests the meaning "son of the Lord" or "son of Yah."
In the Old Testament of the Bible, Benaiah is mentioned as the name of a prominent military leader who served under King David. He was renowned for his bravery and loyalty, and is described as one of David's mighty warriors. Benaiah is also mentioned in the Book of Chronicles as the leader of the Cherethites and Pelethites, the king's personal bodyguard.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Benaiah can be found in the Book of Ezra, where it is mentioned as the name of a Levite who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. This suggests that the name was in use among the Israelites during the 6th century BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Benaiah. One of the most prominent was Benaiah ben Jehoiada, a military commander who played a significant role in the succession of King Solomon to the throne of Israel in the 10th century BCE.
Another notable figure was Benaiah Muḥammad ibn Midrār, a 12th century Andalusian-Jewish philosopher and poet who lived in Seville, Spain. He was known for his works on Arabic grammar and poetry.
In the 16th century, Benaiah ben Yehi'el Yaffe was a prominent Jewish scholar and kabbalist who lived in Venice, Italy. He authored several works on Jewish mysticism and philosophy.
During the 17th century, Benaiah ben Moses Zalman was a renowned rabbi and Talmudic scholar in Poland. He authored numerous works on Jewish law and commentary.
In more recent times, Benaiah Siddique was a 19th century Indian Muslim scholar and reformer who advocated for education and social reform in British India.
People
Beniah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beniah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Beniah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beniah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beniah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,269,896 US residents.
Is Beniah a common name?
We classify Beniah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 152 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beniah most popular?
The single biggest year for Beniah was 2015, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beniah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Beniah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beniah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beniah in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Beniah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beniah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Beniah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Beniah?
Find out how many Americans are named Beniah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.