Given name & surname
Ruben
“behold, a son!”
Ruben is a variant of Reuben. One Hebrew interpretation is “behold, a son!.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ruben is a variant of Reuben. One Hebrew interpretation is “behold, a son!.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Ruben is a variant of Reuben. An origin associated with Reuben is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
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. Ruben is a variant 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
Ruben through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 117,207
- 116,552 boys · 655 girls
- Most popular year
- 1992
- 1,814 babies
- 2025
- 632
- #480 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 632 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 480 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 13.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,805 in 1992. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (164). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 126,201 as a first name in 2020; 2,679 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.
Ruben’s family of names
Ruben shares a linguistic root with Reuben. In German usage, Ruben has a related form in Rubin. Ruben has a related form in Reuben.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ruben has relatives in 13 languages.
26 related names in 13 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Reuvenequivalent
- Rúbenderivative · Portuguese
- ראובןHebrew
- РувімUkrainian
- RubénSpanish
- РувимRussian
- RubemPortuguese
- RubènCatalan
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Ruben
- Ruben AmorimPortuguese professional football manager and former playerborn 1985
- Ruben Loftus-CheekEnglish association football player (born 1996)
- Rubén VargasSwiss association football playerborn 1998
- Ruben FleischerAmerican film directorborn 1974
- Ruben GallegoAmerican politician (born 1979)
- Ruben StuddardAmerican singerborn 1978
- Ruben AguilarFrench footballer (born 1993)
- Ruben IPrince of Armenia
- Ruben HoukesDutch judokaborn 1979
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Ruben, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Efrain
“one who is tertile; productive” · “fruitful”
>99% boys
Jared
“descent” · “of the descent; descending”
>99% boys
Zachariah
“The Lord remembers”
>99% boys
Darius
“a kingly man; one who is wealthy”
>99% boys
Moises
Moises is a masculine given name from Portuguese, ultimately from Spanish. It is used in English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and Latin.
>99% boys
Adan
“man” · “of the earth”
99% boys · 1% girls
Seth
“one who has been appointed”
>99% boys
Uriel
“the angel of light”
98% boys · 2% girls