Ben

Ben is a short form of Benjamin, whose first element is the Hebrew ben, meaning son. It can also serve as a diminutive of Benedict or Bennett, which derive instead from the Latin benedictus, blessed. In Hebrew and Aramaic, ben appears in patronymics, so that a man would be called the son of his father, as in Ben-Gurion. The English playwright Ben Jonson, author of Volpone and The Alchemist, was a contemporary and rival of Shakespeare. The name also belongs to Big Ben, the great bell in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which is said to be named after Sir Benjamin Hall.