Big Ben is not actually called Big Ben

 Big Ben is not actually called Big Ben

Big Ben is arguably London’s most famous landmark. Surprisingly, it is actually meant to go by the name ‘The Clock Tower’, while ‘Big Ben’ is the name of the bell. Feel free to bore your friends and family with that fact if you ever do a tour of London.

 Although tourists and locals often say “Big Ben” when referring to the tower at the Houses of Parliament, that isn’t its actual name.
The tower was originally known simply as the Clock Tower and was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Big Ben is not actually called Big Ben

However, for those about to point out that Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the tower, this isn’t strictly accurate either.
Its official name is the Great Bell. There are two theories regarding its adoption of the nickname Big Ben. 

Big Ben is not actually called Big Ben

These are that the Great Bell was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner for Works 1855-1858, or that it was named after Ben Caunt, a champion heavyweight boxer of the 1850s, according to the Parliament website