Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.

Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on the Hebrew original; Rúben in European Portuguese and Icelandic; Rubem or Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese; Rubén in Spanish and French; Rubèn in Catalan; Ruben in Dutch, German, Italian, Indonesian, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Armenian; and Rupen/Roupen in Western Armenian.

The form Ruben can also be a form of the name Robin, itself a variation of the Germanic name Robert, in several Celtic languages. It preserves the "u" sound from the name's first component "hruod" (compare Ruairí, the Irish form of Roderick).

Mononym

• Ruben I, Prince of Armenia (1025/1035–1095), the first lord of Armenian Cilicia or "Lord of the Mountains" from 1080/1081/1082 to 1095, founder of Rubenid dynasty

• Ruben II, Prince of Armenia (c. 1165–1170), the seventh lord of Armenian Cilicia or "Lord of the Mountains" from 1169 to 1170

• Ruben III, Prince of Armenia (1145–1187), the ninth lord of Armenian Cilicia or "Lord of the Mountains" from 1175 to 1187

• Ruben (singer), Norwegian singer-songwriter Ruben Markussen (born 1995)

• Ruben (film editor), Indian film editor Livingston Antony Ruben (born 1986)

Given name

Reuben

• Reuben Agboola (born 1962), Nigerian football player

• Reuben Bennett (1913–1989), Scottish football player and coach

• Reuben Efron (1911–1993), Lithuanian-American CIA officer

• Reuben Fatheree II (born 2002), American football player

• Reuben Fenton (1819–1885), American merchant and politician from New York

• Reuben Fine (1914–1993), American chess player and psychologist

• Reuben Fink (1889–1961), Ukrainian-American Yiddish writer

• Reuben Foster (born 1994), American football player

• Reuben Garrick (born 1997), Australian rugby league player

• Rube Goldberg (Reuben) (1883–1970), American cartoonist and creator of Rube Goldberg devices

• Reuben Hazell (born 1979), English football player

• Reuben James (c. 1776 – 1838), US Navy boatswain's mate

• Reuben Lowery (born 2002), American football player

• Reuben Mattus (1912–1994), Polish businessman

• Reuben Mednikoff (1906–1972), British surrealist artist

• Reuben Noble-Lazarus (born 1993), English football player

• Reuben Oppenheimer (1897–1982), justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals

• Reuben Partridge (1823–1900), American pioneer bridge builder

• Reuben Reid (born 1988), English football player

• Reuben Snake (1937–1993), Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) activist, educator, spiritual leader, and tribal leader

• Reuben Sturman (1924–1997), American pornographer and businessman from Ohio

• Reuben Thorne (born 1975), New Zealand rugby player

• Reuben Wu (born 1975), English photographer, director, music producer, member of the band Ladytron

Ruben

• Ruben Amorim (born 1985), Portuguese football manager

• Ruben Oskar Auervaara (1906–1964), Finnish thief and fraudster

• Ruben Bemelmans (born 1988), Belgian tennis player

• Ruben Cain, birth name of Robert Gibson (wrestler) (born 1958), American professional wrestler

• Ruben Castillo (boxer) (1957–2026), American boxer

• Ruben Darbinyan (1883–1968), Armenian politician and activist and government minister during the First Republic of Armenia

• Ruben Douglas (born 1979), Panamanian basketball player

• Ruben Enaje, Filipino carpenter and sign painter, known for being voluntarily crucified annually on Good Friday

• Ruben Fleischer (born 1974), American film director and producer

• Ruben Gabrielsen (born 1992), Norwegian football player

• Ruben Gallego (born 1979), American politician

• Ruben Hein (born 1982), Dutch musician

• Ruben Houkes (born 1979), Dutch judoka

• Ruben Hyppolite II (born 2001), American football player

• Ruben Kihuen (born 1980), American politician

• Ruben Kun (1942–2014), President of Nauru (1996–1997)

• Ruben Lagus (1896–1959), Finnish general, one of the principal commanders of Lapland War

• Ruben Loftus-Cheek (born 1996), English football player

• Ruben Markussen (born 1995), aka Ruben (singer), Norwegian singer-songwriter

• Ruben Müller (born 2005), German footballer

• Ruben Nicolai (born 1975), Dutch television presenter and comedian

• Ruben Nirvi (1905–1986), Finnish linguist and professor

• Ruben Östlund (born 1974), Swedish film director, producer and screenplay writer

• Ruben Rausing (1895–1983), founder of the food packaging company Tetra Pak

• Ruben Sevak, or Rupen Sevag, real name Ruben Çilingiryan (1886–1915), Ottoman Armenian poet, prose-writer, and doctor, killed by Turkish authorities during the Armenian Genocide

• Ruben Studdard (born 1978), American singer, winner of American Idol season 2

• Ruben Trumpelmann (born 1998), South African-born Namibian cricketer

• Ruben Vargas (born 1998), Swiss football player

• Ruben Wiki (born 1973), New Zealand rugby player

• Ruben Yesayan (1946–2026), Russian-Armenian test pilot

Rubén/Rúben

• Rubén Aguiar (born 1956), Argentine long-distance runner

• Rubén Albarrán (born 1967), Mexican singer-songwriter, member of Café Tacuba

• Ruben de Almeida Barbeiro (born 1987), real name of Portuguese electro house music DJ and producer KURA

• Rubén Amaro Jr. (born 1965), American baseball player, manager, and coach

• Rubén Ardila (1942–2025), Colombian psychologist

• Rubén Baraja (born 1975), Spanish football manager

• Rubén Bareiro Saguier (1930–2014), Paraguayan poet and writer

• Rubén Blades (born 1948), Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, actor, Latin jazz musician and activist

• Rubén Blanco (born 1995), Spanish professional footballer

• Rubén Callisaya (born 1961), Bolivian politician

• Rubén Castro (born 1981), Spanish football player

• Rubén Daray (born 1950), Argentine racing driver

• Rubén Darío (1867–1916), Nicaraguan poet

• Rubén de la Red (born 1985), Spanish football manager

• Rúben Dias (born 1997), Portuguese football player

• Rubén Duarte (born 1995), Spanish football player

• Rubén Espinoza (born 1961), Chilean football player

• Rubén Limardo (born 1985), Venezuelan fencer

• Rubén Maza (born 1967), Venezuelan long-distance runner

• Rubén Iván Martínez (born 1984), Spanish football player

• Rúben Neves (born 1997), Portuguese football player

• Rubén Ochandiano (born 1980), Spanish actor and director

• Rubén Rangel (born 1977), Venezuelan road racing cyclist

• Rubén Alonso Rosales (1925–2000), Salvadorian politician

• Rúben Semedo (born 1994), Portuguese football player

• Rubén Sobrino (born 1992), Spanish football player

• Rubén Sosa (born 1966), Uruguayan football player

• Rubén Tejada (born 1989), Panamanian baseball player

• Rúben Vinagre (born 1999), Portuguese football player

• Rubén Xaus (born 1978), Spanish motorcycle racer

• Rubén Yáñez (born 1993), Spanish football player

Rueben

• Rueben Bain Jr. (born 2004), American football player

• Rueben Mayes (born 1963), Canadian former American football player

Surname

Reuben

• David and Simon Reuben, billionaire entrepreneurs in the UK

• David Reuben (author) (born 1933), American author and psychiatrist

• Gloria Reuben (born 1964), Canadian-American actress

• John Reuben (born John Reuben Zappin in 1979), American Christian hip-hop artist

• Julie Reuben (born 1960), historian interested in the role of education in American society and culture

• Scott Reuben (born 1958), disgraced American anesthesiologist and professor

• Stewart Reuben (1939–2025), British chess player, chess arbiter, and poker author

• William A. Reuben (1915 or 1916 – 2004), American journalist noted for his work on the cases of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and of Alger Hiss

Ruben

Rueben

• Hannah Rueben (born 1994), Nigerian wrestler

Fictional characters

• Reuben (Lilo & Stitch), also known as Experiment 625, a character in the Lilo & Stitch franchise

• Reuben (Final Fantasy), a character from Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

• Reuben, a Minecraft pig from Minecraft: Story Mode

• Reuben Kincaid, the Partridge Family's manager

• Ruben Lozano, a crime lord antagonist in Red vs. Blue Season 14

• Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano, main antagonist (The Evil Within)

• Reuben Price, "Captain Price", a bounty hunter antagonist in Just Roll With It

• Reuben Tishkoff, bank rolls con in “Ocean’s 11”

• Ruben (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage), fictional character

See also

• Rube

• Reubens (disambiguation)

• Reuven (name)

• Rubens (disambiguation)

• Rubin (disambiguation)

• Rupen (disambiguation)

• Roupen, a list of people with the given name

References