Benedict

Latin
"blessed"

Benedict Origin and Meaning

The name Benedict is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "blessed".

Parents who like Ben and Benjamin but find those forms too popular sometimes consider Benedict as a more distinctive choice. Unlike the Old Testament Benjamin, Benedict is the name of the saint who formed the Benedictine Order and of fifteen popes,including a recent one.

Shakespeare used a variant form--Benedick--for the character in Much Ado About Nothing. Other options are Bennett and Benno.

Benedict Cumberbatch is a rising British stage, film and TV actor, who has been seen as Stephen Hawking, William Pitt, Dr. Frankenstein, Frankenstein's monster, and currently as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series.

Just one caveat: There is the link to that infamous traitor Benedict Arnold.

# 928 in the US

Benedict Rank in US Top 1000

# 384 on Nameberry

Benedict Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Benedict Popularity

Famous People Named Benedict

  • Saint Benedict of Nursia
    Italian patron of Europe and students
  • Benedict I
    XVI, popes (latest resigned 2013)
  • Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch
    English actor
  • Benedict Arnold
    American Revolutionary general and traitor
  • Benedict Biscop
    Anglo,Saxon abbot
  • Benedict "Ben" Carpenter
    English sculptor
  • Benedict Martin Paul "Ben" Mulroney
    Canadian TV presenter
  • Joseph Benedict "Ben" Chifley
    16th prime minister of Australia
  • Benedict Joseph Semmes
    Jr., American admiral
  • Benedict Wong
    English actor

Benedict in Pop Culture

  • Benedict
    character in opera "Beatrice et Benedict" by Hector Berlioz
  • Benedict Copeland
    character in Carson McCullers' "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"
  • Benedict of Amber
    character in the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
  • Benedict aka Father
    character in animated series "Codename: Kids Next Door"
  • Nicholas Benedict
    character in "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Terry Benedict
    villain in movie "Ocean's Eleven"
  • Eggs benedict
    breakfast dish
  • Benedict Blue
    A postman in Violet Evergarden anime