Given name & surname
Rube
“behold, a son!”·“as precious as the red gemstone”
In English use, Rube is a short form of Reuben. One Hebrew interpretation is “behold, a son!.” In English use, Rube is a short form of Ruby. One English interpretation is “as precious as the red gemstone.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Rube is a short form of Reuben. One Hebrew interpretation is “behold, a son!.” In English use, Rube is a short form of Ruby. One English interpretation is “as precious as the red gemstone.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Rube is a short form of Reuben. An origin associated with Reuben is Hebrew. In English use, Rube is a short form of Ruby. An origin associated with Ruby is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Rube is a short form of Ruby. In English usage, Rube is a diminutive of Reuben.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Rube is a short form of Reuben. The history of Reuben gives this family its wider story. Reuben appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Rube through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 612
- 612 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1973. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 243 as a first name in 2020; 264 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Rube’s family of names
Rube is a short form of Ruby. Rube has a related form in Reuben. In English usage, Rube is a diminutive of Reuben.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Rube
- Rube GoldbergAmerican cartoonist (1883–1970)
- Rube WaddellAmerican baseball player (1876-1914)
- Rube MarquardMajor League Baseball pitcher1886–1980
- Rube BjorkmanAmerican ice hockey playerborn 1929
- Rube BloomAmerican songwriter, pianist, arranger, band leader, recording artist, vocalist, and author (1902–1976)
- Rube FosterAmerican Hall of Fame baseball player (1879-1930)
- Rube OldringAmerican baseball player (1884-1961)
- Rube WalbergAmerican baseball player (1896-1978)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Rube, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ruel
“friend of God” · “a friend of God”
>99% boys
Meade
“from the meadow”
99% boys · 1% girls
Murrell
“of the shining sea”
85% boys · 15% girls
Holmes
“from the river island”
>99% boys
Woodruff
“a woman of the forest” · “a man of the forest”
>99% boys
Mansfield
“from the field near the small river”
>99% boys
Woodroe
“from the row of houses near the forest”
>99% boys
Zophar
“chirper” · “leaper”
>99% boys