Ben was named after the first three letters of his father, to whom he has a strong resemblance. He wanted to bend just like his father who raised him, however, Bender said his family's bending abilities are passed down through the mothers, and his mother didn't have any arms, so he couldn't bend, and he can't have a bending card chipped in him, because there's only one slot in him, which holds his memory. After winning custody of Ben, Bender decided to help Ben learn how to bend, by allowing the Professor to install a bending card, at the expense of all of Ben's memories.