Rhuben
A baby boy's name of Welsh origin meaning "handsome" or "red-haired one."
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Rhuben. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rhuben today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhuben births was 1922 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhuben. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rhuben with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rhuben. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1922
7 babies that year
Average age
-
1922 SSA rank
#3,802
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Rhuben: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhuben from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhuben by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rhuben during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhuben
The name Rhuben is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, and its roots can be traced back to ancient times. It is a variation of the biblical name Reuben, which was derived from the Hebrew phrase "re'u ben," meaning "behold, a son."
In the Old Testament, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name Reuben is mentioned several times in the Bible, particularly in the book of Genesis, where it is associated with the birth and life of Jacob's firstborn son.
The earliest recorded use of the name Rhuben can be found in medieval records, where it was a common spelling variation of Reuben. During this time, the name was popular among Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Rhuben was Rhuben ben Ephraim, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and scholar from Provence, France. He was known for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and philosophy.
In the 16th century, Rhuben Luria was a prominent rabbi and scholar from Poland. He was known for his teachings on the Kabbalah and his contributions to the field of Jewish mysticism.
During the 17th century, Rhuben Ganz was a notable Jewish printer and publisher in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He played a significant role in the dissemination of Jewish literature and religious texts during his time.
In the 19th century, Rhuben Malin was a Swedish artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits. He was born in 1819 and is considered one of the most influential Swedish painters of the Romantic era.
Another notable figure with the name Rhuben was Rhuben Sheffer, an American artist and illustrator who lived from 1836 to 1905. He was known for his illustrations in popular magazines and books during the late 19th century.
While the name Rhuben has its roots in the Hebrew language and biblical history, it has been used across various cultures and regions throughout history, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations.
People
Rhuben + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhuben as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rhuben: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhuben?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhuben going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Rhuben a common name?
We classify Rhuben as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhuben most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhuben was 1922, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhuben is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rhuben in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhuben a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhuben in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rhuben still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhuben in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rhuben can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Rhuben?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.