Boy · #1,324 in 2026

Benaiah

Benaiah is a common name in the Hebrew Bible.

Current Rank
#1,324
Peak Rank
#1,181 (2021)
Total Babies
3K
5-Yr Trend
-2%
1976
First Year
2026
Last Year
2021
Peak Year
#1181
Peak Rank
3K
Total Count
49
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Benaiah

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Benaiah is a common name in the Hebrew Bible.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Etymology
In the etymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana), which is a common Hebrew verb meaning "to build". The second part of Benaiah is יה (Yah), which is not a derivative of the Tetragrammaton , but a contraction of it (ie, the first and last consonants of יהוה are contracted as יה).

The Story of Benaiah

Benaiah first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1976, with 7 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2021, when 166 Benaiahs were born — ranking #1,181 that year. As of 2026, Benaiah ranks #1,324 for baby boys with 145 births, holding steady (-2%). In total, more than 3K Benaiahs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
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WI
MI
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VT
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OR
ID
SD
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IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
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MD
DE
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Top 10
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101-500
500+
No data

Names that sound like Benaiah

Phonetically similar names — useful when Benaiah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Benaiah

What does the name Benaiah mean?
Benaiah is a common name in the Hebrew Bible.
How popular is Benaiah in 2026?
In 2026, Benaiah ranks #1,324 among boys' names in the U.S., with 145 babies given the name that year.
When was Benaiah most popular?
Benaiah reached its peak popularity in 2021, ranking #1,181 that year with 166 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Benaiah most popular?
Benaiah has historically been most popular in Kansas, Oregon, Iowa. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Benaiah.
Is Benaiah a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Benaiah is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.
What names go well with Benaiah?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Benaiah include Perley, Lige, Irvine. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Benaiah

Benaiah is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1976 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Benaiah's peak popularity came in 2021 when it ranked #1,181. Use the chart and map above to compare Benaiah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.