Benlahcen

Benlahcen is a surname of North African origin, typically found among Maghrebi communities in Morocco and Algeria. The name is a compound patronymic built from the prefix Ben (or bin), meaning "son of," and Lahcen, a local cognate of the given name Hassan. In Moroccan Arabic, Lahcen is a common form of Hassan, and Benlahcen therefore denotes "son of Lahcen."

Spelling variations are common, including Ben Lahcen, Ben-Lahcen, or Lahcene with differing prefixes. The name appears in official records and personal documents across North Africa and among expatriate populations in France, Belgium, Canada, and other countries with Maghrebi communities. Like other patronymics, its distribution reflects historical patterns of Arabic-speaking settlement, migration, and naming practices rather than a single family line.

As with other surnames of this construction, Benlahcen functions as a hereditary identifier rather than a description of occupation or place. Individual bearers may be found in diverse fields—education, business, sports, civil service—but the surname does not imply a particular notability or a unified biographical entry in major encyclopedias.

See also: Lahcen; Hassan; Ben (name).