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 a English variant spelling on the Hebrew original; Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese; Rubén in Spanish; Rubèn in Catalan; Ruben in Dutch, German, French, 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).[citation needed]
Mononym
edit- 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
editReuben
edit- Reuben Agboola (born 1962), Nigerian football player
- Reuben Bennett (1913–1989), Scottish football player and coach
- Reuben Fenton (1819–1885), American merchant and politician from New York
- Reuben Fine (1914–1993), American chess player and psychologist
- 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 Mattus (1912–1994), Polish businessman
- Reuben Mednikoff (1906–1972), British surrealist artist
- Reuben Noble-Lazarus (born 1993), English football player
- Reuben Oppenheimer (1897–1982), justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals
- Reuben Partridge (1823–1900), American pioneer bridge builder
- Reuben Reid (born 1988), English football player
- Reuben Snake (1937–1993), Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) activist, educator, spiritual leader, and tribal leader
- Reuben Sturman (1924–1997), American pornographer and businessman from Ohio
- Reuben Thorne (born 1975), New Zealand rugby player
- Reuben Wu (born 1975), English photographer, director, music producer, member of the band Ladytron
- Reuben Bannister (born 1984), English entrepreneur, company director and musician
Ruben
edit- Ruben Oskar Auervaara (1906–1964), Finnish thief and fraudster
- Ruben Cain, birth name of Robert Gibson (wrestler) (born 1958), American professional wrestler
- 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 Houkes (born 1979), Dutch judoka
- Ruben Bemelmans (born 1988), Belgian tennis player
- Ruben Kihuen (born 1980), American politician
- Ruben Kun (1942–2014), President of Nauru (1996–1997)
- Ruben Lagus (1896–1959), Finnish general, one of the principal commanders of Lapland War
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek (born 1996), English football player
- Ruben Markussen (born 1995), aka Ruben (singer), Norwegian singer-songwriter
- Ruben Nicolai (born 1975), Dutch television presenter and comedian
- Ruben Nirvi (1905–1986), Finnish linguist and professor
- Ruben Östlund (born 1974), Swedish film director, producer and screenplay writer
- Ruben Rausing (1895–1983), founder of the food packaging company Tetra Pak
- Ruben Sevak, or Rupen Sevag, real name Ruben Çilingiryan (1886–1915), Ottoman Armenian poet, prose-writer, and doctor, killed by Turkish authorities during the Armenian Genocide
- Ruben Studdard (born 1978), American singer, winner of American Idol season 2
- Ruben Trumpelmann (born 1998), South African-born Namibian cricketer
- Ruben Vargas (born 1998), Swiss football player
- Ruben Wiki (born 1973), New Zealand rugby player
Rubén/Rúben
edit- Rubén Ochandiano (born 1980), Spanish actor and director
- Rubén Aguiar (born 1956), Argentine long-distance runner
- Rubén Albarrán (born 1967), Mexican singer-songwriter, member of Café Tacuba
- Rubén Alonso Rosales (1925–2000), Salvadorian politician
- Rubén Amaro Jr. (born 1965), American baseball player, manager, and coach
- 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 Castro (born 1981), Spanish football player
- Rubén Callisaya (born 1961), Bolivian politician
- Rubén Daray (born 1950), Argentine racing driver
- Rubén de la Red (born 1985), Spanish football manager
- Rubén Duarte (born 1995), Spanish football player
- Rubén Espinoza (born 1961), Chilean football player
- Rubén Limardo (born 1985), Venezuelan fencer
- Rubén Iván Martínez (born 1984), Spanish football player
- Rubén Maza (born 1967), Venezuelan long-distance runner
- Rubén Rangel (born 1977), Venezuelan road racing cyclist
- Rubén Sobrino (born 1992), Spanish football player
- Rubén Sosa (born 1966), Uruguayan football player
- Rubén Yáñez (born 1993), Spanish football player
- Rubén Xaus (born 1978), Spanish motorcycle racer
- Ruben de Almeida Barbeiro (born 1987), real name of Portuguese electro house music DJ and producer KURA
- Rúben Amorim (born 1985), Portuguese football manager
- Rúben Dias (born 1997), Portuguese football player
- Rúben Neves (born 1997), Portuguese football player
- Rúben Semedo (born 1994), Portuguese football player
- Rúben Vinagre (born 1999), Portuguese football player
Rueben
edit- Rueben Mayes (born 1963), Canadian former American football player
Surname
editReuben
edit- 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 (born 1939), 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
edit- Alessandro Ruben (born 1960), Italian politician
- Karl Ruben, Danish chess master
- Livingston Antony Ruben, aka Ruben (film editor), Indian film editor
- Marco Ruben, Argentine football player
- Sam Ruben (1913–1943), American biochemist, born Charles Rubenstein
- Samuel Ruben (1900–1988), American inventor and founder of Duracell
Rueben
edit- Hannah Rueben (born 1994), Nigerian wrestler
Fictional characters
edit- 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
See also
edit- Rube
- Reubens (disambiguation)
- Reuven (name)
- Rubens (disambiguation)
- Rubin (disambiguation)
- Rupen (disambiguation)
- Roupen, a list of people with the given name
- All pages with titles beginning with Reuben
- All pages with titles containing Reuben
- All pages with titles beginning with Ruben
- All pages with titles containing Ruben