Benedict - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. be-ne-dic(t), ben-edi-ct ] The boy name Benedict is pronounced as BEHNahDIHKT ^KEY. Benedict is an English name of Latin origin. Biblical name derived from the element 'benedictus' meaning blessed. Benedictus (Latin) is an original 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). Notable bearers include the Mexican revolutionary leader Benito Juárez (1806-1872) and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), who was given the name in tribute to the former. The name Benedicta (English and German) is the female version of Benedict.

Benedict is a widely used name; it has 36 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Benedict used in English include Bendick, Bendict, Benedick, Benett, Bennet, and Bennett. 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 Bendik (Scandinavian), Bendiks (Latvian), Bendt (Scandinavian), Benedek (Hungarian), Benedetto (Italian), Benedicto (Spanish), Benedik (Hungarian), Benedikt (Dutch, German, and Russian), Benedikte (German), Benedito (Portuguese), Benedykt (Polish), Benes (Czech), Benesh (Yiddish), Benet (Catalan), Bengt (Scandinavian), Benito (Italian and Spanish), Benneit (Scottish), Benoît (French), Bent (Scandinavian), Bento (Portuguese), Beynish (Hebrew and Yiddish), Bénézet (Proven�al), Bieito (Galician), Penekiko (Hawaiian), Pentti (Finnish), and Venedikt (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 (English) was the most regularly used in 2007.

Baby names that sound like Benedict include Benedikt (Dutch, German, and Russian), Benedikte (German), Benedykt (Polish), and Benedicto (Spanish).

^KEY: 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)"

A famous person named Benedict is Benedict XVI, Religious Figure, born Joseph Ratzinger, 16 April 1927, Marktl Am Inn, Bavaria, Germany.

Popularity Trend
for Benedict
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Benedict
in 2007