Rueben
Rueben was given to 28 boys in 2025, #3,928 among boys’ names; 4,871 Americans have been recorded with it since 1886 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,060 Americans named Rueben and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 41 years old and half are between 26 and 57.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rueben by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Rueben?
#3,928 among boys’ names, 2025
Rueben rose from #4,051 in 2015 to #3,928 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 13.6 to 16.4 per million.
72 babies in 1921, the peak
Rueben peaked in 1921, when 72 boys were given it, #802 among boys’ names. The 28 births of 2025 are 39% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | #3,928 | 16.4 |
| 2024 | 17 | #5,607 | 9.9 |
| 2023 | 24 | #4,435 | 14.0 |
| 2022 | 30 | #3,754 | 17.2 |
| 2021 | 25 | #4,206 | 14.3 |
| 2020 | 14 | #6,219 | 8.1 |
| 2019 | 34 | #3,412 | 18.9 |
| 2018 | 27 | #3,973 | 14.9 |
| 2017 | 29 | #3,748 | 15.7 |
| 2016 | 22 | #4,586 | 11.6 |
Every recorded year (127)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 26 | #4,051 | 13.6 |
| 2014 | 30 | #3,599 | 15.6 |
| 2013 | 29 | #3,641 | 15.3 |
| 2012 | 36 | #3,155 | 19.0 |
| 2011 | 22 | #4,475 | 11.6 |
| 2010 | 22 | #4,491 | 11.5 |
| 2009 | 39 | #3,032 | 19.7 |
| 2008 | 40 | #2,995 | 19.6 |
| 2007 | 37 | #3,123 | 17.8 |
| 2006 | 23 | #4,192 | 11.2 |
| 2005 | 29 | #3,432 | 14.5 |
| 2004 | 47 | #2,408 | 23.7 |
| 2003 | 39 | #2,609 | 19.7 |
| 2002 | 33 | #2,869 | 17.0 |
| 2001 | 60 | #1,860 | 30.9 |
| 2000 | 44 | #2,242 | 22.4 |
| 1999 | 37 | #2,445 | 19.3 |
| 1998 | 39 | #2,301 | 20.4 |
| 1997 | 57 | #1,721 | 30.2 |
| 1996 | 49 | #1,862 | 25.9 |
| 1995 | 47 | #1,854 | 24.7 |
| 1994 | 46 | #1,858 | 23.8 |
| 1993 | 49 | #1,760 | 25.0 |
| 1992 | 62 | #1,479 | 31.0 |
| 1991 | 50 | #1,664 | 24.7 |
| 1990 | 72 | #1,310 | 35.1 |
| 1989 | 64 | #1,375 | 32.0 |
| 1988 | 68 | #1,245 | 35.5 |
| 1987 | 57 | #1,311 | 30.5 |
| 1986 | 63 | #1,213 | 34.2 |
| 1985 | 46 | #1,474 | 24.9 |
| 1984 | 49 | #1,361 | 27.1 |
| 1983 | 55 | #1,250 | 30.7 |
| 1982 | 57 | #1,239 | 31.4 |
| 1981 | 51 | #1,306 | 28.5 |
| 1980 | 66 | #1,121 | 37.0 |
| 1979 | 52 | #1,286 | 30.2 |
| 1978 | 52 | #1,255 | 31.7 |
| 1977 | 54 | #1,206 | 32.9 |
| 1976 | 54 | #1,175 | 34.4 |
| 1975 | 58 | #1,112 | 37.1 |
| 1974 | 43 | #1,303 | 27.3 |
| 1973 | 50 | #1,173 | 32.1 |
| 1972 | 57 | #1,080 | 35.2 |
| 1971 | 40 | #1,346 | 22.6 |
| 1970 | 47 | #1,218 | 25.3 |
| 1969 | 28 | #1,558 | 15.7 |
| 1968 | 33 | #1,362 | 19.0 |
| 1967 | 42 | #1,160 | 24.1 |
| 1966 | 44 | #1,126 | 24.7 |
| 1965 | 44 | #1,140 | 23.7 |
| 1964 | 35 | #1,345 | 17.6 |
| 1963 | 51 | #1,077 | 25.1 |
| 1962 | 55 | #1,036 | 26.6 |
| 1961 | 41 | #1,246 | 19.3 |
| 1960 | 49 | #1,129 | 23.0 |
| 1959 | 37 | #1,295 | 17.3 |
| 1958 | 50 | #1,086 | 23.6 |
| 1957 | 54 | #1,038 | 25.0 |
| 1956 | 38 | #1,252 | 18.0 |
| 1955 | 40 | #1,193 | 19.4 |
| 1954 | 40 | #1,197 | 19.6 |
| 1953 | 36 | #1,258 | 18.3 |
| 1952 | 34 | #1,294 | 17.5 |
| 1951 | 29 | #1,399 | 15.4 |
| 1950 | 40 | #1,136 | 22.3 |
| 1949 | 46 | #1,043 | 25.9 |
| 1948 | 31 | #1,318 | 17.7 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,268 | 18.6 |
| 1946 | 27 | #1,374 | 16.6 |
| 1945 | 25 | #1,343 | 18.6 |
| 1944 | 23 | #1,431 | 16.9 |
| 1943 | 36 | #1,153 | 25.2 |
| 1942 | 35 | #1,190 | 25.3 |
| 1941 | 31 | #1,205 | 25.2 |
| 1940 | 23 | #1,428 | 19.8 |
| 1939 | 15 | #1,861 | 13.6 |
| 1938 | 18 | #1,678 | 16.2 |
| 1937 | 38 | #1,053 | 35.6 |
| 1936 | 35 | #1,114 | 33.7 |
| 1935 | 33 | #1,161 | 31.7 |
| 1934 | 22 | #1,489 | 21.3 |
| 1933 | 37 | #1,088 | 37.3 |
| 1932 | 25 | #1,418 | 23.9 |
| 1931 | 43 | #1,026 | 41.4 |
| 1930 | 48 | #989 | 43.7 |
| 1929 | 43 | #1,053 | 40.0 |
| 1928 | 50 | #975 | 45.1 |
| 1927 | 50 | #1,000 | 44.4 |
| 1926 | 62 | #841 | 55.8 |
| 1925 | 53 | #931 | 47.5 |
| 1924 | 62 | #883 | 54.7 |
| 1923 | 67 | #831 | 61.1 |
| 1922 | 69 | #816 | 63.4 |
| 1921 | 72 | #802 | 65.4 |
| 1920 | 51 | #971 | 47.9 |
| 1919 | 61 | #848 | 62.2 |
| 1918 | 59 | #867 | 58.2 |
| 1917 | 58 | #845 | 62.7 |
| 1916 | 41 | #1,009 | 46.1 |
| 1915 | 50 | #876 | 58.9 |
| 1914 | 41 | #852 | 62.6 |
| 1913 | 24 | #1,042 | 46.8 |
| 1912 | 16 | #1,215 | 37.2 |
| 1911 | 17 | #817 | 75.2 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,182 | 46.3 |
| 1907 | 10 | #921 | 68.1 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,387 | 37.6 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,072 | 52.9 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,371 | 39.0 |
| 1902 | 9 | #849 | 73.4 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,188 | 47.0 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,063 | 51.1 |
| 1894 | 7 | #937 | 60.5 |
| 1893 | 6 | #1,011 | 53.4 |
| 1890 | 7 | #869 | 63.0 |
| 1886 | 7 | #833 | 63.2 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Rueben a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rueben has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 127 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Rueben: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rueben, and how old are they?
3,060 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 4,871 Americans ever recorded as Rueben. The median Rueben alive today is 41 years old; half are between 26 and 57.
The 2020 Census counted 3,194 people named Rueben (15 women and girls, 3,179 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,132 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 99 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 515 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 677 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 840 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 593 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 333 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Rueben born?
The states with the most babies named Rueben are California, Texas and Minnesota, with 76% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Minnesota is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 540 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Texas | 440 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Minnesota | 167 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Wisconsin | 135 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| North Dakota | 112 | not ranked | 4.9× |
| Arizona | 41 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| New Mexico | 16 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 15 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| South Dakota | 12 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 10 | not ranked | 0.0× |
Where Rueben is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rueben is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 4.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Rueben with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 129,148 babies since 1880, Rueben is the third most given (3.8% of them). In 2025 it was given to 28 of their 677 babies (4.1%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rueben
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rueben and names like it
- Compare Rueben and RubenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sRueben peaked in 1921.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rueben since 1910.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Rueben.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Rueben alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with RMost given first.