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[ 3 syll. be-ne-dic(t), ben-edi-ct ] The boy name Benedict is pronounced as BEHNahDIHKT †. Benedict is an English name of Latin origin. Biblical name derived from the element 'benedictus' meaning blessed. Benedictus (Latin) is an old form of Benedict. The name was borne by the 6th-century Saint Benedict (480-550), the founder of Christian monastic communities and the Benedictine order. The name was first adopted by English speakers in the 12th century, and it was a popular Roman Catholic name. Common medieval forms of the name included Benedick and Bennett; the latter was popular enough to be used as a surname, which in turn led to a revival in its use as a modern given name. The Czech form Benes has given rise to the name Beynish, which is also used as a translation of Baruch. In the 18th century, the popularity of the name in the US declined somewhat through its association with Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), the Revolutionary soldier who plotted unsuccessfully to surrender his American fort to the British. The name has also been borne by at least sixteen popes. In literature, the form Benedick appeared in the Shakespeare comedy play Much Ado about Nothing (1598-1599). The name Benedicta (English and German) is the female version of Benedict. Benedict is a widely used name; it has 59 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants used in English include Bendick, Bendict, Bendix, Benedick, Benet (used in Catalan as well), Benett, Bennet, Bennett, Benoit (used in French as well), and Dick (used in Dutch as well). The short form Ben (used in Dutch and as well), and the pet forms Bennie and Benny are other English variants. Foreign variants of Benedict include Bence (Hungarian), Benci (Hungarian), Bendek (Polish), Bendik (Scandinavian), Bendiks (Latvian), Bendito (Spanish), Benditto (Spanish), Bendt (Scandinavian), Benedek (Hungarian), Benedetto (Italian and Spanish), Benedicto (Portuguese and Spanish), Benedik (Hungarian), Benedikt (Czech, Dutch, German, Russian, and Slavic), Benedikte (German and Romanian), Benedito (Portuguese and Spanish), Benedo (Russian), Benedykt (Polish), Benek (Hungarian and Polish), Benes (Czech), Benesh (Yiddish), Bengt (Scandinavian), Beni (Spanish), Benitin (Spanish), Benito (Italian and Spanish), Benke (Hungarian), Bennedict, Bennedikt, Benneit (Scottish), Bennito, Bennt, Benoist (French), Benoît (French), Bent (Scandinavian), Bento (Portuguese and Spanish), Betto (Italian), Beynish (Hebrew and Yiddish), Bénédict (French), Bénézet (Provençal), Bieito (Galician), Penekiko (Hawaiian), Pentti (Finnish), Venedict (Russian), Venedikt (Russian), Venka (Russian), and Venya (Russian). Another foreign variant is the pet form Benno (German). See also the related form, Benson (English). Benedict is rare as a baby name for boys. At the modest peak of its usage in 1914, 0.017% of baby boys were given the name Benedict. Its ranking then was #446. The baby name has since markedly fallen in popularity, and is currently of infrequent use. Out of the group of boy names directly linked to Benedict, Bennett was the most regularly used in 2008. Baby names that sound like Benedict include Benedikt (Czech, Dutch, German, Russian, and Slavic), Benedikte (German and Romanian), Bennedict, Bennedikt, Bénédict (French), Benedykt (Polish), and Benedicto (Portuguese and Spanish). A famous person named Benedict is Benedict XVI, Religious Figure, born Joseph Ratzinger, 16 April 1927, Marktl Am Inn, Bavaria, Germany.
† Pronunciation for Benedict: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; K as in "key (K.IY)" ; T as in "tea (T.IY)"   |
