The name Benedict is a popular masculine given in Britain and other parts of the world like the United States.

Meaning of Benedict

The name is borrowed from Latin’s Benedictus which means blessed. It stems for the names bene and dicte which means good and speak respectively thus also meaning well spoken. The most popular nickname for it is Ben.

Popularity of Benedict

The name was also very popular in the middle ages in England mostly due to the association with St. Benedict of Norcia. It was popular, particularly in Christianity. However, the name is not very popular today as it did not feature in the top 100 names in 2015 in England going by the government statistics. It ranked position 341 in England and Wales from the 2015 ranking.

Famous people with the name Benedict

Some of the most popular people bearing the name are;
• St. Benedict of Norcia, the founder of the Benedictine Order.
• Benedict Cumberbatch, a prominent English actor from Hammersmith in London.
• Benedict Arnold, a general in the American Revolutionary wars who would later
defect to the British army.
• Pope Benedict XVI who was elected in the year 2005 and would later resign in
2013
. A total of 16 popes have used the name Benedict.

Useful Resources

Discover the meaning and origin of other English boys’ names.