Why Big Ben Isn’t Actually the Name of the Tower

If you’ve ever pointed at a photo of London and said, “That’s Big Ben,” you’re in good company. Most people do. Travel guides, films, even news channels toss the name around like it’s the official title of that grand clocktower beside the Houses of Parliament.

The twist: Big Ben isn’t the tower’s name at all.

You’re not staring at “Big Ben” in those skyline shots. You’re looking at Elizabeth Tower, the tall Gothic structure on the north end of the Palace of Westminster. The name Big Ben belongs to something hidden up near the top.

And it’s a lot louder than you might expect.

So… What Is Big Ben, Exactly?

Big Ben is the bell.

Not the clock. Not the tower. The Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster. When the hour strikes and that deep note rolls across the Thames, that’s Big Ben doing its thing. The nickname started with the bell and, over time, people just stretched it to mean the whole tower. Wikipedia

Think of it like calling an entire stadium by the name of its loudest fan. Technically wrong. Feels right. Sticks anyway.

The Great Bell with the Big Personality

The bell we call Big Ben weighs over 13 tons and sounds an E note. It didn’t have an easy start in life. The first version of the hour bell cracked during testing and had to be recast. The second bell also cracked after it was installed; instead of throwing it out, they rotated it and adjusted how it was struck, so the famous “bong” you hear today carries a tiny scar in its sound.

That slightly imperfect tone is part of its charm. Big Ben is basically the rock singer with a raspy voice that somehow makes every performance better.

The Real Name of the Tower: Elizabeth Tower

The tower itself has had a more formal life than its noisy roommate.

For most of its history, the structure was simply called the Clock Tower. In 2012, to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, the British Parliament officially renamed it Elizabeth Tower.

So if you want to be technically correct (and a bit smug), you’d say:

“That’s Elizabeth Tower; Big Ben is the bell inside it.”

From “Clock Tower” to “Elizabeth Tower”

The renaming followed a tradition. The big western tower at the opposite end of the Palace is called Victoria Tower, named after Queen Victoria. When Elizabeth II reached her Diamond Jubilee, it felt fitting to give the clocktower her name as a matching honour. Wikipedia+1

The name change was backed in Parliament and marked with a plaque and a small ceremony. The tower didn’t move, didn’t grow, didn’t shrink—only its official label changed. The world, meanwhile, kept calling it Big Ben.

Old habits beat official paperwork every time.

Why the Name Change Happened in 2012

The Diamond Jubilee marked 60 years on the throne for Queen Elizabeth II. London was already full of her symbols, but the clocktower is a global visual shorthand for Britain itself. Renaming it to Elizabeth Tower turned that icon into a direct tribute to her reign.

So when someone says, “They renamed Big Ben,” the pedantic answer is: no, they renamed the tower, not the bell.

A Quick History of the Famous Clocktower

After a fire destroyed much of the old Palace of Westminster in 1834, a new building was designed by Charles Barry with Gothic details by Augustus Pugin. The clocktower we now call Elizabeth Tower rose as part of that rebuild, finished in 1859.

It stands about 96 meters (316 feet) tall, with a square base and a spiral staircase that climbs hundreds of steps up to the clock room and bells. The four clock faces are huge—over 7 meters across—so people at street level can read the time from a good distance.

This wasn’t just a pretty landmark. When it was completed, the Great Clock was one of the most accurate public clocks in the world.

Who Was the “Ben” in Big Ben?

So where does the name actually come from?

The short version: nobody wrote it down in a neat official note, so historians have to piece it together. Two names keep coming up:

• Sir Benjamin Hall, the tall, outspoken Commissioner of Works who oversaw the bell’s installation

• Ben Caunt, a popular heavyweight boxing champion of the time

Most evidence leans toward Sir Benjamin Hall. Reports from the era point to his nickname and height, and it’s easy to imagine colleagues informally dubbing the huge bell “Big Ben” after the huge man giving the orders.

Ben Caunt makes a fun story, but Sir Benjamin feels more likely.

Why Everyone Uses the Wrong Name

Language is lazy. Once the public locked onto “Big Ben” as the label for the tower, the name stuck everywhere—postcards, tourism sites, movie establishing shots, TV news intros. Even official tourism pages cheerfully talk about “Big Ben” while quietly noting that it’s technically the bell.

So good luck fighting that tide. If you say “Elizabeth Tower” in casual chat, people will probably just blink and say, “You mean Big Ben?”

Films, Postcards, and TV News Bongs

The tower’s profile and the sound of the chimes have become visual and audio shorthand for London. Radio stations use the chimes to mark the hour; TV news uses the clock face or the sound of “the Bongs” to signal serious headlines.

No one cuts to a graphic saying “Elizabeth Tower, formally known as…” There’s just the sound and that silhouette, and your brain fills in the words “Big Ben.”

How the Clock Stays So Accurate

The clock is still driven by its original mechanical movement. A long pendulum swings in a separate room beneath the main mechanism, and the timekeeping is so fine-tuned that small coins are placed on the pendulum to adjust its speed. Add a pre-decimal penny and the clock gains about 0.4 seconds per day; remove one and it slows.

It’s a charming mix of engineering and pocket change. No app. No Wi-Fi. Just gravity, gears, and a few old coins.

Recent Restoration and a Fresh New Look

Between 2017 and 2021, Elizabeth Tower went through a major restoration. Scaffolding wrapped the structure, the bells fell mostly silent, and craftspeople worked through stone, iron, glass, and gilding.

The project brought back the original blue-and-gold colour scheme on the clock faces and repaired damage dating back as far as World War II. In 2025, the restored tower was even shortlisted for the Stirling Prize, a major architecture award, praised as a masterclass in conservation.

So the tower may have an old soul, but it’s looking very sharp.

Big Ben Myths People Still Believe

Let’s clear a few up:

• “Big Ben is the tower’s official name.”
  Nope. It’s the Great Bell’s nickname.

• “The tower has always been called Elizabeth Tower.”
  It was “Clock Tower” until 2012.

• “The bell is perfect and uncracked.”
  The current bell cracked early on; the fix changed its tone.

• “It’s just a tourist photo-op.”
  It’s part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a working symbol of the UK Parliament. Wikipedia+1

FAQs About Big Ben’s Name and the Tower

1. Is it wrong to call the whole tower “Big Ben”?
Technically, yes. Big Ben is the bell. But the nickname is so widely used for the whole structure that you’ll hear Londoners say it too. If you’re writing something factual or educational, use Elizabeth Tower for the building and Big Ben for the bell.

2. When did the tower officially become Elizabeth Tower?
In 2012, during Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee year. Parliament backed the proposal, and the new name honoured her long reign. Wikipedia+1

3. What was the tower called before 2012?
It was simply the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster. That very plain name sat underneath all the public chatter about “Big Ben” for more than 150 years. Wikipedia

4. Can visitors see Big Ben, the bell itself?
You can’t just stroll in and pat the bell. UK residents can sometimes arrange tours through their Member of Parliament, but foreign visitors are limited to seeing the tower from outside and visiting other parts of Parliament. Security and safety rules keep the bell room off the normal tourist route.

5. Why does the name confusion matter at all?
Because names tell you how something was meant to be understood. Knowing that Big Ben is the bell and Elizabeth Tower is the structure helps you read history, guides, and even news reports more accurately. It’s also a neat bit of pub trivia.

6. Where can I test my Big Ben knowledge?
If you enjoy this kind of thing, you might like trying some fun history quizzes and seeing how well you do on London landmarks and other trivia.

Why the Name Detail Actually Matters

Next time someone points to a photo and calls the whole thing Big Ben, you’ll know the full story hiding behind that easy nickname. There’s a 19th-century bell with a scar in its voice, a tower renamed for a modern queen, and a piece of engineering that still runs with the help of a few old pennies.

You don’t have to correct anyone at the dinner table. But if you do, you can back it up.