Daily AncestorBenj.
Benj. is an old abbreviation of the first name Benjamin, common in deeds, wills, church registers and census pages.
Benj. is a clerk's shorthand for the given name Benjamin. Writers shortened common first names to save time and ink, usually by keeping the first letters and the last one or two, often with the final letters raised above the line.
It keeps the first four letters of the name. When an index lists Benj. separately from Benjamin, check both spellings, because indexers usually copy the abbreviation exactly as written.
As seen in a recordWitness line of a colonial will
Benj. Ross, Gent., one of the witnesses
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Daily Ancestor. "Benj.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/benj. Last checked 2026-10-01.