# Reuben (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/reuben/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,194 |
| US rank (2010) | 21,774 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 258,581 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.8% (1,129 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹu.bən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Ruben, Rubin, Rube |

## Etymology

* From Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (r'uvén), from רְאוּ (r'ú, “see [masculine plural imperative]”) + בֵּן (ben, “son”); its literal meaning is therefore roughly, "See, all: a son!" * There are several unconfirmed etymologies for the name of the sandwich.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Reuben in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 47% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 33% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 7.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 5.9% |
| Two or more races | 3.4% |

## Similar surnames

Rubin, Ruben, Rehbein, Ruffin, Rubino, Robin, Rabon, Raven, Rabin, Raybon, Ruffino, Rufino.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.