The name Ebenezer is actually a blend of two Hebrew words: אבן (ʾeben, pronounced EH-ven), meaning "stone," and עזר (ʿezer, pronounced EH-zer), meaning "to help." Thus, the name Ebenezer literally means "stone of help."

The name is explained in 1 Samuel 7:12: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us'." However, the name became famous in the English speaking world when Charles Dickens named the protagonist of his 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge.