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.

#281 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#480 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
116,552
born since 1880
1990s
peak decade

Yes -- Ruben is the #480 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 #480 as of the latest data, more common than 97% 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.

  • #281 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #480 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 116,552 born since 1880
  • 1990s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ruben ranks #281 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #480 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 116,552 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.

#281 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#480 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
116,552
born since 1880
1990s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%96.5%
Ruben vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Ruben's 116,552 recorded births place it above 99.38% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

44 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

44 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Ruben compares

116,552 Top 3% higher than 97% of 13,930 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 316x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Ruben Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 116,552 369 358,536
Peak-year births 1,805 34 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 popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1992)
1,805
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
05001,0001,5002,000 188018991918193719561975199420132025 632

Ruben popularity over time - girls

655 total births recorded since 1925 (Ruben as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 655 births
0510152025 192519411954196319721981199019992009 6

Ruben by decade

1990s is the heaviest window (16,930 births, 15% of the file).

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

births

What this shows Peak: 1990s at 16,930 births (15% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

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 Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -138, 3.5%-141, 2.6%-146, 2.2%-90, 8.5%-146, 7.5%-146, 5.7%-54, 7.2%-146, 7.3%-80, 3.3%-146, 2.1%-146, 7.9%-129, 1.9%-146, 2.5%-146, 3%-146, 2.4%Ruben-146, 1.5%Ruben
Ruben vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Ruben by state

Where Ruben concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Regionally concentrated
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Ruben
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. All-time, it sits at #281 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #480 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1992 with 1,805 births.
Where does Ruben sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ruben ranks #281 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #480 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
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

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
#5399 7,054 births
Ruby Boy
#5871 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

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Ruben

Cassian #479
2,893 births · Peak 2025
Makai #481
9,298 births · Peak 2025
Noel #478
52,096 births · Peak 2014
Adan #482
31,478 births · Peak 2005
Samson #477
12,879 births · Peak 2025
Asa #483
21,166 births · Peak 2022
Royal #476
20,072 births · Peak 2021
Kasen #484
11,414 births · Peak 2019

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Ruben: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 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).

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 August 2026.