Reuven
Masculine · “behold”
Reuven is 'see, a son' in Hebrew — Leah's cry at his birth — and the text spells the pun out immediately.
How old is the name Reuven?
Reuven first appears in US birth records in 1959 — 66 years ago. The typical Reuven alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 1,100 people named Reuven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reuven most popular?
Reuven peaked in 1974, reaching #2277 nationally. Today it ranks #2363, 86 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From re'u ben to Reuven
The story of Reuven
Leah names her first son Re'uven — see, a son — and the text at once explains it as 'the Lord has seen my affliction, now my husband will love me'. Reuben lost the birthright and his tribe faded early. Reuven is the Hebrew form, standard in Israel and Orthodox communities, and is in current American use.
Meaning
behold, a son
From the Hebrew Re'uven — re'u, 'see', and ben, 'son'. Genesis gives Leah's explanation immediately: the Lord has seen my affliction. The name and the gloss play on the same root differently, which commentators have long noted. The Hebrew is documented.
How the name formed
- re'u ben
- Re'uven
- Reuven
Related forms: ראובן · Reuben · Ruvn
Pronouncing Reuven
reh-oo-VEN
Three syllables, stress on the third. English Reuben is ROO-bin with two.
Nicknames for Reuven
Moderate
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
- 1959
- Most boys named
- 202459 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2277reached in 1974
- Change vs 2024
- −1.7%58 in 2025, from 59
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.
Reuven in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- ראובן in Hebrew — transliteration
- Reuben in English — related form
- Ruvn in Yiddish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey.
Reuvens among us
people named Reuven are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 29,450 born in 2025 was named Reuven
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Carlson test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Reuven's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Carlson climbed just as high around 1943, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Carlson's path sketches the road Reuven is walking now.
Reuven 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 Reuven is headed
Reuven looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 16% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Reuven beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Reuven in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the text explains the name in the same verse is a first-rate detail.
- The see-a-son meaning is unusually direct and human.
- Ruvi is a warm and widely used Israeli short form.
- Reuben is what English speakers will assume and say differently.
- The biblical Reuben loses the birthright.
- It reads as specifically Hebrew and observant.
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What they receive
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Reuven
Masculine · #2363 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reuvens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Reuven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reuven in 2025?
- Reuven ranks #2363 among US boy names in 2025, with 58 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Reuven?
- About 1 in every 29,450 US boys born in 2025 was named Reuven — 58 in all.
- Will my child share the name Reuven with classmates?
- Reuven will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Reuven
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Javi#2363 · Kyngston#2363 · Pete#2363 · Herman#2363 · Clint#2363 · Lipa#2363 · Zacchaeus#2363 · Khyson#2363
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reuven? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Reuven and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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