Reuben??

[Rachel234561]

What do you think of this name with Ben as a nickname. Thanks. Due in three weeks and it's the name we both agree on. Thanks.Xxx

[Bishboshbash]

Lovely (I have one!) but not keen on Ben as a nickname, too plain!

[Hero1callylost]

I like it, it makes me smile at the thought of Cathy Davey's song 'Reuben' :)

[Paddletonio]

Reuben and Ben both great

[lifeinslowmotion]

Reuben is a lovely name but Ben as a nn is quite dull in comparison.

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

Can't stand it sorry. Ruebens are everywhere. But then its popular for a reason.
But if you're thinking of calling him Ben as a nn. Which is loveley Why not just put Ben on his BC.I know its mnetty thing to have full names on BC, but it really isn't the law.
Or how about Benjamin or Benedict. There was a little boy who was in my DDS primary school named Benedict (Ben). He was a lovely little boy, very very polite and we'll behaved

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

Oooh strike out fail. Oh well

[DramaAlpaca]

I don't see why not. If you like it, go for it. I know a Ben whose birth cert name is Bernard which is awful IMO and Reuben is much nicer.

FWIW I wouldn't be able to resist using Roo as a nickname. One of my boys gets called Roo, but he isn't a Reuben or anything like it

[SushiAndTheBanshees]

It's a nice name, I like it. If you're not Jewish be prepared for the lifelong assumption that he is.

[Didactylos]

brother to Seth?

[Bishboshbash]

I think it depends where you live, I've never met another Reuben or had anyone suggest he is Jewish. I'm in Scotland though so maybe that makes a difference.

[ThisPasadenaHomemaker]

It's completely irrational and unjustified but I really hate it.

Plus they are everywhere here in W Yorks. Seems like I missed the memo saying all boys born in the last 4 years must be called Reuben or Noah.

[LumelaMme]

Love it.
We have a Roo round the corner.

[CordeliaFrost]

I love it, it's my dad's name, so how could I not? It's also DS's middle name.

We are a Jewish family, and for a long time I only ever knew Jewish boys/men named Reuben (or Reuven, the original Hebrew spelling), but these days I know/know of a handful of non-Jewish boys named Reuben. Plus my friend's fiancé is a Reuben, and he's not Jewish, so I would no longer assume a Reuben is Jewish (as I did back when all the ones I knew were).

Oh and I wouldn't use a nn for it, I think Reuben is handsome enough on its own, but the only nn I like for it is Roo. For some reason I like Ben from Benjamin, but for Reuben, I don't. Work that one out if you can!

[MrsCaecilius]

Very Jewish to me too. Not that that's an issue of course...

[hobitty]

Reuben is a great name! But please don't use Ben as a nickname - it is so dull and overused..... Why not use Reuben as it is?

[alltouchedout]

I love the name. I wanted to use it but my husband doesn't like it :(. It's gorgeous.

[NationMcKinley]

Love it. We have one. We use Rudy as nn even though it's not technically an abbreviation

[hobitty]

If you have to shorten Reuben, then I'd chosse Roo or Rooby, but I wouldn't shorten it at all.

[BalaRua]

Love it! My ds is named Ruairí and gets Ru for short and it's very cute, Reuben shortened to Ru would be nice too. I wouldn't think to shorten it to Ben though if he was introduced as Reuben, my mind just wouldn't make the connection.

[hobitty]

Also, you don't pronounce it as Reu-BEN, the emphasis is on the ROO.

[NoArmaniNoPunani]

It's a sandwich

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

Loads of Ruebens here, but if you live in an area where it's not so popular you might feel better.

The one I know best is aways called Roo. There are three in his Year 4 class.

[SellFridges]

We have a Reuben. Doesn't get shortened. We've been asked once if we're Jewish. Which we're not. It's definitely becoming more popular though. If we did shorten, it would be to Ben.

[ingenvillvetavardukoptdintroja]

We did exactly that after 5 days of negotiating over boys names.... My oh hated roo as a shortening and he looked like a Ben, very wise!
I've forgotten his name is Reuben tbh. People don't really get it as a nickname for Reuben, the sound is more like bun. I'm just relieved as I honestly felt he wasgoing to be nameless for life.....

[Bellejournee]

I know a Reuben and his nickname is Roo, which I love!