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Although often referred to as Big Ben, this is actually the nickname of the bell housed within the Clock Tower - and Big Ben's official name is the Great Bell.
No-one knows the exact origins of the name 'Big Ben' but the most popular theories are:
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It could have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works, who was a tall man and known in the House of Commons as Big Ben.
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It may have been named after a champion heavyweight boxer of the time called Ben Caunt. He fought his last fight in 1857 when it was being decided what to call the bell.