Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did Baruch Spinoza change his given name to Benedictus?

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Engraved portrait of Benedict de Spinoza by Friedrich Roth-Scholtz, showing Spinoza in formal 17th-century attire with a circular symbol in the upper left corner. — Benedict de Spinoza Benedict de Spinoza.

Following his formal excommunication from the Jewish community in Amsterdam in 1656, the philosopher changed his given name from the Hebrew Baruch to the Latin Benedictus. Both names share the same meaning: "blessed".1