Reuben Name Meaning & Origin
Reuben
Origin of the name Reuben:
Derived from the Hebrew rĕūbēn (behold, a son!). Reuben was the eldest son of Jacob and Leah and patriarch of the tribe bearing his name..
From A World of Baby Names by Teresa Norman.
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US Popularity of Reuben Over Time

Sister & Brother Names
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Name Lists Featuring Reuben
- English and Welsh Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England and Wales (2013)
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Northern Ireland 2014
- New Zealand Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in New Zealand, 2010
- English and Welsh Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England and Wales
- English Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England
- Welsh Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Wales
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Northern Ireland for 2012
- Scottish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Scotland
- English Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in England
Contribute your knowledge to the name Reuben
- Comments and insights on the name Reuben
I adore the name Reuben and it is definitely at the top of my list for boys names.
Reuben is a rough, tough masculine name. I like it!
Me too.
I like the spelling Rubin better.
I think Reuben sounds like a farmer's name. And at carnivals, whenever a fight breaks out, carny people yell "Hey Rube!"
I always think of the sandwich.
There's a song that goes "Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking, What a nice world this would be, If the boys were all transported far beyond the northern sea!" Then sing "Rachel, Rachel, I've been thinking, What a nice world this would be, If the girls were all transported far beyond the northern sea!"
I like the name Reuben; it sounds really sweet yet strong at the same time. I'm just afraid to use it because I'm not sure if people will associate the name too much with the sandwich.
- Personal experiences with the name Reuben
- Nicknames for Reuben
Rube
Roo
Rooster
Ben
Benny- Meanings and history of the name Reuben
Reuben means, "See, a son" in Hebrew. The biblical Reuben was given this name by his mother, Leah, to show that although she was the less favored wife, she had accomplished what her sister Rachel could not.
Reuben is also a sandwich of corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, with Russian or Thousand Island dressing, on rye bread.
- Famous real-life people named Reuben
Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah in the Old Testament.
Reuben Fine, American chess champion
Reuben Lucius "Rube" Goldberg, American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor
Reuben Fenton, governor of New York
Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby champion- Reuben in song, story & screen
"Reuben James", song by Kenny Rogers
"Reuben, Reuben", 1980s film starring Tom Conti and Kelly McGillis
Reuben Kincaid, deadpan manager of the Partridge Family in the eponymous series, played by Dave Madden
Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, the alcoholic U.S. Marshal in the novel True Grit (played by John Wayne in the 1969 movie version and by Jeff Bridges in the 2010 version).
The Reuben Awards are given for achievement in cartooning.
Reuben Bean in The Beans of Egypt, Maine