Total births
116,552
Boys' name · since 1880
Ruben
116,552 babies named Ruben in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1992. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #504
- among boys today
- 116,552
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other boys
Yes -- Ruben is the #504 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 116,552 recorded since 1880.
Ruben has 116,552 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #504 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #504 among boys today
- 116,552 born since 1880
- 1990s peak decade
- 96% more common than other boys
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Ruben is currently the #504 boys' name in America, more common than 96% of boys - 116,552 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.
- #504
- among boys today
- 116,552
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other boys
Ruben vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
#504
of 14,294 boys in use
More common than 96% of names given to boys today.
1990s
Peak decade
15% of everyone ever named Ruben was born in this single decade.
1992
Single peak year
1,805 babies were named Ruben in 1992 - its busiest year on record.
How Ruben compares
116,552 Top 2% higher than 98% of 14,294 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Ruben's all-time total is 318x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Ruben | Median boys name (Elchonon) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 116,552 | 367 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 1,805 | 23 | 22,252 |
Ruben's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Ruben's full recorded timeline at 1953, 82% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 18% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1881, with just 21 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1992 peak of 1,805 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Ruben at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
1992
Current rank
#504
Active since
1880
Ruben popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1992)
- 1,805
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Ruben popularity over time - girls
655 total births recorded since 1925 (Ruben as girls' name)
Ruben by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1990s was Ruben's strongest decade.
16,930 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.
Ruben births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 299
1880s
299 births
- 1890s 373
1890s
373 births
- 1900s 504
1900s
504 births
- 1910s 1,989
1910s
1,989 births
- 1920s 4,143
1920s
4,143 births
- 1930s 4,644
1930s
4,644 births
- 1940s 6,319
1940s
6,319 births
- 1950s
1950s
12,395 births
- 1960s
1960s
12,623 births
- 1970s
1970s
13,538 births
- 1980s
1980s
14,858 births
- 1990s
1990s
16,930 births
- 2000s
2000s
15,379 births
- 2010s
2010s
8,730 births
- 2020s 3,828
2020s
3,828 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 16,930 births (15% of all-time use).
How Ruben compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Ruben's total volume
Ruben vs 15 similarly-sized boys names
Ruben by state
Where Ruben concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 35,173 | 30.2% |
| #2 | Texas | | 34,442 | 29.6% |
| #3 | New York | | 5,684 | 4.9% |
| #4 | Arizona | | 5,381 | 4.6% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 4,133 | 3.5% |
| #6 | Florida | | 2,899 | 2.5% |
| #7 | New Mexico | | 2,691 | 2.3% |
| #8 | Colorado | | 1,765 | 1.5% |
California share of Ruben's total US births 30.2%
Even split
35,173 of 116,552 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Ruben appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Ruben? ▼
116,552 babies have been named Ruben since 1880. It currently ranks #504 among boys. The peak year was 1992 with 1,805 births.
When was Ruben most popular? ▼
Ruben was most popular in the 1990s decade with 16,930 total births. The single peak year was 1992.
Where is Ruben most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Ruben are California (35,173 births), Texas (34,442 births), New York (5,684 births).
How long has the name Ruben been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Ruben since 1880 -- 146 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Ruben? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Rubin, Ruby, Rube, Rubert, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Ruben's data
- Ruben's decade-level peak was the 1990s (16,930 total births); usage has since declined to 3,828 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Rubens (35,173 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Ruben
Nearby Names Like Ruben
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Ruben
Rubin Boy
#6470 7,054 births
Ruby Boy
#5246 3,114 births
Rube Boy
612 births
Rubert Boy
491 births
Ruble Boy
291 births
Compare Ruben side by side: Ruben vs Rubin Ruben vs Ruby Ruben vs Rube
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Ruben
Kaizen #503
3,039 births · Peak 2025
Azariah #505
6,558 births · Peak 2025
Ledger #502
4,970 births · Peak 2024
Donovan #506
61,684 births · Peak 2003
Rocco #501
31,679 births · Peak 2009
Elio #507
5,174 births · Peak 2025
Moses #500
43,291 births · Peak 2016
Lawrence #508
461,170 births · Peak 1952
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Ruben: #504 Boys' Name - 116,552 Births, Peak 1992." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/ruben. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Ruben draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.