Rheuben
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name "Reuven", meaning "behold, a son".
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Rheuben. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rheuben today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rheuben births was 1927 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rheuben. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rheuben with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rheuben. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
1927
6 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1983 SSA rank
#7,086
Tracked since 1927
Popularity
Rheuben: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rheuben from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rheuben by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rheuben during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rheuben
The name Rheuben is derived from the Hebrew name Reuven, which means "behold, a son" or "see, a son is born." It is the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites, mentioned in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible.
Reuven was the firstborn son of Jacob and his wife Leah. According to biblical accounts, he was born in Paddan-Aram, which is present-day Syria, around the 18th century BCE. The name Reuven is closely related to the Hebrew word "re'u" meaning "to see" or "to behold."
The earliest recorded use of the name Rheuben can be traced back to the King James Version of the Bible, published in 1611, where it is spelled as "Reuben." This English transliteration of the Hebrew name became popular among English-speaking populations.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rheuben or its variants. One of the most famous was Reuben Salford (1849-1915), an American architect known for designing many prominent buildings in San Francisco, including the Palace Hotel and the Flood Building.
Another notable bearer of the name was Reuben Fine (1914-1993), an American chess grandmaster and writer on chess. He was one of the world's strongest players in the 1930s and 1940s, and he authored several influential books on chess strategy and theory.
In the world of literature, Reuben Sachs (1827-1896) was a British lawyer and writer who authored several novels and short stories, including "The Mysteries of Verbena House" and "The Fortunes of Maurice Velliers."
Reuben A. Snake (1837-1912) was an American Baptist minister and educator, best known for founding the Virginia Union University, one of the oldest historically black universities in the United States.
Reuben Woolley (1886-1958) was a British actor and playwright who appeared in numerous films and stage productions throughout the early 20th century, including the 1936 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' "The Cricket on the Hearth."
People
Rheuben + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rheuben as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rheuben: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rheuben?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rheuben going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Rheuben a common name?
We classify Rheuben as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rheuben most popular?
The single biggest year for Rheuben was 1927, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rheuben is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rheuben in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rheuben a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rheuben in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rheuben still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rheuben in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rheuben can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Rheuben?
You can see how many people share the name Rheuben on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.