Reuben

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; 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).

Mononym

Given name

Reuben

Ruben

Rubén/Rúben

Rueben

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

Ruben

Rueben

Fictional characters

See also

References