Ben

From Awe

Ben is a short form of the forename Benjamin or Benedict. There are two main types of such shortenings: they are convenient for writing, e.g. in lists; or they are essentially spoken pet-names, and thus informal. (See Conventional abbreviations for forenames.)

Short form	Long form	Informal or written	Other short forms	Remarks
Ben	Benjamin or Benedict	Informal, and written	Benjy	Benedict may be better written as Bent - a medieval form was Ben(n)et(t).

There is a list of similar names at Conventional abbreviations for forenames, as well as the category:short names

Note that any informal form may be spelled in different ways. Notably, any spelling listed that ends in '-ie' may be written with the ending '-y', and vice versa.

In Scotland, a Ben is also a mountain, from the Gaelic beann or beinn. It is a title placed before the particular name, as in Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain and Ben Lomond, near Loch Lomond