A shortening of the male given name Benjamin or, less often, of Benedict.
But Andy and Ben, they are lovers, not fighters … and they are going the battered sav. 2016 September 11, Emily Power, “Main bathroom reveals on The Block: hold on for the bathroom without a toot”, in Domain News:
When mathematicians face a question they cannot answer, they sometimes devise a less stringent question, in the hope that solving it will provide insights. This is the path that Tao took in 2004, in collaboration with Ben Green of Oxford. 2015 July 24, Gareth Cook, “The Singular Mind of Terry Tao”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2020:
After a moment of comfortable silence, with Ben tenderly rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand, he asked, “So what do you want to do now that you’re all stuffed full of waffley goodness?” 2013, Victoria J. Hyla, Running in the Mists (Hearts Drawn Wyld Trilogy; 2), Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 300:
Ben wolved down a digestive biscuit, then stretched out on his stomach on the flagstones beside them. 1990, Peter James, Sweet Heart, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, →ISBN, page 156: