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).
Contents
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
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)
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
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
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