Skip to content
BabyNames
Boy name#226 of boy names

Ruben

Pronounced R UW1 B AH0 N (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1992
  • 145 years in use
  • Biblical
  • 2 spellings
Compare

How popular is Ruben?

Ruben is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 156,243 children — the 226th most common boys' name on record.

It has been slipping, down 32% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1992, when 2,095 children were given it.

Two other spellings are counted in that total — Reuben and Rubin — because they are pronounced identically.

06251,2501,8752,50018901920195019802010
1992Boys: 2,095Girls: 9

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Ruben and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Reuben
  • Rubin

Characteristics

  • Biblical (Person)
  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
R UW1 B AH0 N · R UW1 B IH0 N
Stress pattern:
10 · 10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Ruben

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Ruben

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Ruben?
Ruben ranks 226th among boys' names in US records, with 156,243 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 9,923.
Is Ruben a unisex name?
No. Ruben is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Ruben most popular?
1992, when 2,095 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Ruben spelled?
Reuben, Rubin. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.