Benoni as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Benoni

What is the meaning of the name Benoni ?

The baby name Benoni is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced ben-OH-nee (IPA: /bɛnˈoʊni/).

Benoni is Hebrew in Origin.

Benoni is a masculine given name of Biblical Hebrew origin, from ben “son” + ’oni, a word that can mean “sorrow/affliction” or, in some readings, “strength.” In Genesis 35:18 the dying Rachel names her newborn Ben-’oni, commonly understood as “son of my sorrow”; his father Jacob immediately renames him Benjamin (“son of the right hand”), so Benoni survives chiefly as a poignant episode rather than a patriarchal name.

Because of its somber sense, Benoni saw little use in Jewish tradition, but it surfaced intermittently in Christian naming - especially among English Puritans and in colonial America, where direct biblical names were favored. Today it remains rare, sometimes chosen for its stark narrative power or as an alternative path to everyday nickname Ben. Variants and spellings include Ben-Oni and Ben Oni; the original Hebrew form is Ben-’oni (בֶּן־אוֹנִי). Closely related: Benjamin; diminutives: Ben, occasionally Oni.