ðə nˈeɪm bˈɛnɐhˌævɪs ɪz dᵻɹˈaɪvd fɹʌmðɪ ˈæɹɐbˌɪk "bˈiːnə lˌɛɾɚwˈʌnˈiːtˈuːfˈaɪv ɐ bˈiː ˌaɪmˈækɹˌɑːn ˈɛs ˈeɪtʃ" ˈæɹəbɪkbˈæ ˈæɹəbɪknˈuːn ˈæɹəbɪkælˈif ˈæɹəbɪkhˈæmzæ ˈæɹəbɪkhˈɛʔ ˈæɹəbɪkbˈæ ˈæɹəbɪkjˈɛʔ ˈæɹəbɪkʃˈiːn, mˈiːnɪŋ "ðə bˈɪldɪŋ ʌv lˌɛɾɚwˈʌnˈiːtˈuːfˈaɪv ɐ bˈiː ˌaɪmˈækɹˌɑːn ˈɛs ˈeɪtʃ", ðə wˈɜːd lˌɛɾɚwˈʌnˈiːtˈuːfˈaɪv ɐ bˈiː ˌaɪmˈækɹˌɑːn ˈɛs ˈeɪtʃ kˌʊdɐv kˈʌm fɹʌmðɪ ˈæɹɐbˌɪk wˈɜːd lˌɛɾɚwˈʌnˈiːtˈuːfˈaɪv ɐ bˈiː ɐ ˈɛs ˈeɪtʃ ˈaɪ ˈæɹəbɪkhˈɛʔ ˈæɹəbɪkbˈæ ˈæɹəbɪkʃˈiːn ˈæɹəbɪkjˈɛʔ, wˌɪtʃ mˈɛnt ˌiːθɪˈoʊpiən, bˌʌt wʌz jˈuːzd tʊ aɪdˈɛntᵻfˌaɪ ˌɛni dˈɑːɹkskˈɪnd ˈæfɹɪkən, ðɪs kʊd ˈɪndᵻkˌeɪt ðætðə sˈɪɾi wʌz fˈaʊndᵻd baɪ ɐ mˈæn ʌv sˈʌbsˈæhæɹən ˈæfɹɪkən dᵻsˈɛnt.
The name Benahavís is derived from the Arabic "Binā' Ḥabīsh" (بناء حبيش), meaning "The Building of Ḥabīsh", the word 'Ḥabīsh' could have come from the Arabic word 'Ḥabashi' (حبشي), which meant Ethiopian, but was used to identify any dark-skinned African, this could indicate that the city was founded by a man of Sub-Saharan African descent.