Reuben
Masculine · “behold”
Reuben is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 32,145 boys against 45 girls since 1880.
Reuben belongs to the first pages of the Hebrew Bible — the eldest of Jacob's twelve sons, and one of the tribes named after them. English-speaking families took it up in earnest after the Reformation, when Old Testament names came into everyday use, and it has stayed in circulation ever since, on both sides of the Atlantic. Two easy syllables, a soft opening and a settled ending: ROO-ben, no explaining required.
How old is the name Reuben?
Reuben was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Reuben alive today was born around 1960, making them about 65 years old. About 18,000 people named Reuben are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reuben most popular?
Reuben peaked in 1880, reaching #147 nationally. Today it ranks #883, 736 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Reuben appears on these lists:
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- Scottish gems the US hasn't discovered
- Founding-era American names
- all guides
Works in British families too:
Where it comes from
From Re'uven to Reuben
The story of Reuben
The name is Hebrew, Re'uven, and it enters the record in Genesis as the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah — head of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Rhouben, and the Latin Vulgate as Ruben, which is why Spanish, Portuguese, German and French all use forms without the middle vowel. English kept the fuller spelling, Reuben, and it spread through Protestant families from the sixteenth century onward, traveling with them to America, where it stayed in ordinary use for generations of farmers, preachers and shopkeepers. It has never left the English-speaking world, and it still appears on the charts in England, Wales and Scotland alongside the United States.
Meaningscholars disagree
"behold, a son" — from Hebrew re'u ben
Genesis gives the name a story rather than a strict etymology: Leah names her firstborn Reuben because "the Lord has looked upon my affliction." That has produced two readings — the traditional re'u ben, "behold, a son," and a link to the Hebrew root ra'ah, "to see," as in "he has seen my misery." Both are seriously argued, and the text itself seems to play on the sound of both.
How the name formed
- Re'uven
- Rhouben
- Ruben
- Reuben
Related forms: Re'uven · Rubén · Ruben · Rúben · Ruben · Ruvn
Pronouncing Reuben
ROO-ben
Stress on the first syllable in English. The Spanish form Rubén moves the stress to the second: roo-BEN. Both spellings — Reuben and Ruben — are long-established, so expect to specify which one you mean.
Nicknames for Reuben
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1918453 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #147reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- −5.6%269 in 2025, from 285
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Reuben in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Re'uven in Hebrew — transliteration
- Rubén in Spanish — same name
- Ruben in German — spelling variant
- Rúben in Portuguese — same name
- Ruben in French — spelling variant
- Ruvn in Yiddish — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania, California, New York. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland. Sources
Reubens among us
people named Reuben are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 6,350 born in 2025 was named Reuben
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Reuben sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Reuben is headed
Reuben should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Reuben beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Reuben in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Biblical and continuously used in English for centuries, so it is familiar to almost everyone without being a name children hear constantly.
- Travels well: Ruben and Rubén are standard in Spanish, Portuguese, German, French and Hebrew-speaking settings.
- Several established short forms — Reub, Rube, Ru, and Ben, which works as a full name on its own.
- Currently in use in England, Wales and Scotland as well as the United States, so it reads as ordinary across the English-speaking world.
- Spelling is phonetic once seen; pronunciation in American English is settled and unambiguous.
- The Reuben sandwich is well enough known that jokes about corned beef and sauerkraut are likely at some point. Most bearers find it a mild, manageable running gag rather than a real burden.
- Reuben and Ruben are both standard spellings, so the middle letters will need repeating on forms, at coffee counters and over the phone for life.
- The short form Rube doubles as an old-fashioned slang word for an unsophisticated country person. It is dated enough that many people no longer make the connection, but it is worth knowing about.
- Living bearers skew toward older generations, so the name may read as a grandfather's name to some ears — the same quality that makes it feel steady rather than trendy.
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What they receive
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Reuben
Masculine · #883 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reubens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 18,000 people named Reuben are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reuben in 2025?
- Reuben ranks #883 among US boy names in 2025, with 269 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Reuben?
- About 1 in every 6,350 US boys born in 2025 was named Reuben — 269 in all.
- Will my child share the name Reuben with classmates?
- Reuben will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Reuben
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jericho#883 · Jagger#883 · Leroy#883 · Trey#883 · Emory#883 · Izan#883 · Kolson#883 · Eren#882
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reuben? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Reuben and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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