# Ruben (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ruben/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Rubin, Reuben |
| US babies named this | 117,207 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 116,552 / 655 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,741, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (r'uvén).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 16 | 5,490 |
| 1990 | 11 | 7,747 |
| 1991 | 18 | 5,344 |
| 1992 | 9 | 9,325 |
| 1993 | 11 | 7,935 |
| 1994 | 13 | 6,996 |
| 1995 | 6 | 13,017 |
| 1996 | 5 | 15,337 |
| 1997 | 5 | 15,606 |
| 1998 | 5 | 16,057 |
| 1999 | 12 | 8,122 |
| 2000 | 6 | 14,648 |
| 2004 | 5 | 18,243 |
| 2005 | 5 | 18,603 |
| 2009 | 6 | 16,864 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 977 | 323 |
| 2012 | 959 | 330 |
| 2013 | 889 | 355 |
| 2014 | 893 | 359 |
| 2015 | 864 | 374 |
| 2016 | 801 | 397 |
| 2017 | 749 | 418 |
| 2018 | 753 | 416 |
| 2019 | 743 | 418 |
| 2020 | 637 | 466 |
| 2021 | 653 | 460 |
| 2022 | 670 | 460 |
| 2023 | 629 | 482 |
| 2024 | 607 | 505 |
| 2025 | 632 | 480 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 318 | 176 |
| 2012 | 341 | 172 |
| 2013 | 370 | 156 |
| 2014 | 361 | 158 |
| 2015 | 374 | 153 |
| 2016 | 363 | 163 |
| 2017 | 358 | 159 |
| 2018 | 435 | 132 |
| 2019 | 429 | 132 |
| 2020 | 454 | 123 |
| 2021 | 540 | 110 |
| 2022 | 480 | 114 |
| 2023 | 471 | 112 |
| 2024 | 435 | 126 |
| 2025 | 527 | 100 |

## People named Ruben

- Ruben Loftus-Cheek, English association football player (born 1996)
- Ruben Fleischer, American film director
- Rubén Galván, Argentine association football player (1952-2018)
- Rubén Salazar Gómez, Colobmbian Roman Catholic priest, cardina, archbishop emeritus of Bogotá
- Ruben Gallego, American politician (born 1979)
- Ruben Studdard, American singer
- Rubén González, Cuban pianist (1919-2003)
- Ruben Houkes, Dutch judoka
- Ruben Aguilar, French footballer (born 1993)
- Rubén Wolkowyski, Argentine basketball player (born 1973)
- Rubén Ayala, Argentine footballer
- Ruben Sevak, Armenian poet (1885–1915)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.