Explore the Family Name Ruben

The meaning of Ruben

1. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Rubin. 2. East German (of Sorbian origin): habitational name from a place so named (Sorbian Rubyn) near Cottbus (Chóśebuz) in Lusatia. Compare Rubin 4. 3. German (Rüben): habitational name from a place so named near Leipzig. 4. English: variant of Rubin. Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Hymen, Moshe, Gershon, Hillel, Isadore, Maier, Shlomo.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Ruben in the United States?

The surname Ruben, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, saw a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. It dropped in rank from 10,532 to 11,026, marking a change of -4.69%. However, the count of individuals carrying this surname actually increased by 3.22%, from 2794 to 2884. The proportion per 100k people also decreased slightly by -5.77%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#10,532	#11,026	-4.69%
Count	2,794	2,884	3.22%
Proportion per 100k	1.04	0.98	-5.77%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ruben

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the surname Ruben, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some shifts over the decade from 2000 to 2010. The percentage of Rubens identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander more than doubled to 4.20%, and those identifying as two or more races also increased to 2.01%. Conversely, there were minor decreases among those identifying as White, Hispanic, and Black. The percentage of Rubens identifying as White dropped to 67.93%, as Hispanic to 8.36%, and as Black to 15.95%. The ethnic group of American Indian and Alaskan Native saw a small increase, rising to 1.56%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	70.01%	67.93%	-2.97%
Black	16.25%	15.95%	-1.85%
Hispanic	8.59%	8.36%	-2.68%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2%	4.2%	110%
Two or More Races	1.65%	2.01%	21.82%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.5%	1.56%	4%