Rubén

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Boy · Hebrew

Rubén

Say it: roo-BEN

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From Hebrew Re'uven, explained in Genesis as 'behold, a son'.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Its wave through time

Timeless: in steady use for over a century

In the United States

113,995 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1992, about 1 in 1,100 boys
632 babies in 2020

Through the ages

The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

Mexican Central American Andean Argentine Caribbean Spanish

The family of the name

Portuguese	Rúben
English	Reuben

Famous bearers

Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet

Names worth a look

DiegoBoyUncertain. Often traced to Santiago through a misdivision of Sant Iago; the Latin form Didacus was later linked to…Middle Ages · peak 2006

RobertoBoyThe Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Robert, from Germanic hrōd 'fame' and beraht 'bright'.Middle Ages · peak 1981

EduardoBoyThe Spanish and Portuguese form of Edward, from Old English ēad 'wealth' and weard 'guardian'.Renaissance · peak 2001

HectorBoyFrom Greek hektōr 'holding fast', from echein 'to hold'.Greece · peak 2005

JavierBoyThe Spanish form of Xavier, from the Basque place name Etxeberri 'new house', the birthplace of St Francis Xavier.Renaissance · peak 2001

OmarBoyFrom Arabic ʿUmar, usually linked to the root ʿ-m-r 'to live, flourish'.Modern · peak 2007

RobinBoyA medieval French pet form of Robert.Middle Ages · peak 1961

ReubenBoyHebrew Re'uven, usually read as 'behold, a son'.Biblical · peak 1880

Where this comes from

The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.