Rubin is both a surname and a given name. Rubins is a Latvian-language name.It derives from the biblical name

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 th ...

as a Jewish name. The choice is also influenced by the word ''rubin'' meaning "ruby," in some languages."Rubin"
in ''Dictionary of American Family Names'', Oxford University Press Notable people with the name include:

Given name

Rubin Carter Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (May 6, 1937 – April 20, 2014) was a Black American middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for Murder (United States law), murder, until released following a petition of Habeas corpus in the ...

, nicknamed "The Hurricane," was a boxer who was imprisoned and later absolved. *

Rubin Goldmark Rubin Goldmark (August 15, 1872 – March 6, 1936) was an American composer, pianist, and educator.Perlis, ''New Grove Dictionary of American Music'', v. II, p. 239 Although in his time he was an often-performed American nationalist composer, his ...

Rubin Kantorovich Rubin is both a surname and a given name. Rubins is a Latvian-language name.It derives from the biblical name Reuben as a Jewish name. The choice is also influenced by the word ''rubin'' meaning "ruby," in some languages.Rubin Patiția Rubin Patiția (–June 13, 1918) was an Austro-Hungarian ethnic Romanian lawyer and political activist. A native of the Transylvania region, he trained as a lawyer, settling in Alba Iulia in the 1870s and using his position to advance the local Ro ...

Surname

Alan Rubin Alan Rubin (February 11, 1943 – June 8, 2011), also known as Mr. Fabulous, was an American musician. He played trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet. Early life and education Rubin was born in Brooklyn. He began attending Juilliard ...

, American musician * Albert Rubin (1887–1956), Jewish painter *

Andrejs Rubins Andrejs Rubins (26 November 1978 – 1 August 2022) was a Latvian professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. He was a member of the Latvia national team. After retiring as a player, Rubins worked as a football manager. Club caree ...

(born 1978), Latvian footballer. *

Andy Rubin Andrew E. Rubin (born March 13, 1963) is an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. Rubin founded Danger Inc. in 1999 and left in 2003; Danger was eventually acquired by Microsoft in 2008. Rubin founded Android Inc. ...

, senior vice president of Mobile at Google *

Andrew Rubin Andrew Harold Rubin (June 22, 1946 – October 5, 2015) was an American actor most known for his role of George Martin in the 1984 film ''Police Academy''. Early years Rubin was born June 22, 1946, in New Bedford, Massachusetts to Jewish parent ...

, Daniel Breen’s father *

Arthur Rubin Arthur Leonard Rubin (born 1956) is an American mathematician and aerospace engineer. He was named a Putnam Fellow on four consecutive occasions from 1970 to 1973. Life and career Rubin's mother was Jean E. Rubin, a professor of mathematics a ...

(born 1956), American mathematician *

Avi Rubin Aviel David "Avi" Rubin (born November 8, 1967) is an expert in systems and networking security. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, Technical Director of the Information S ...

, expert on electronic voting security *

Barbara Rubin Barbara Rubin (1945–1980) was an American filmmaker and performance artist. She is best known for her landmark 1963 underground film '' Christmas on Earth''. Life and career Barbara Rubin grew up in the Cambria Heights neighborhood of Queens ...

(1945–1980), American filmmaker and performance artist *

Barry Rubin Barry M. Rubin (Hebrew: בארי רובין) (28 January 1950 – February 3, 2014) was an American-born Israeli writer and academic on terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs. Career Rubin was the director of the Global Research in International Af ...

(1950–2014), Israeli academic *

Barry Rubin (American football) Barry Rubin (born June 25, 1957) is an American football coach who is a senior strength & conditioning assistant for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head strength and conditioning coach of the ...

(born 1957), American football player and coach *

Benjamin Rubin Benjamin Rubin (September 27, 1917 in New York, New York – March 8, 2010) was an American microbiologist, known as the inventor of the bifurcated vaccination needle, which played an important role in the eradication of smallpox Smallp ...

(1917–2010), American microbiologist *

Bruce Joel Rubin Bruce Joel Rubin (born March 10, 1943) is an American screenwriter, meditation teacher, and photographer. His films often explore themes of life and death with metaphysical and science fiction elements. Prominent among them are ''Jacob's Ladder'' ...

(born 1943), Oscar-winning screenwriter * Carol Rubin (1945–2001), American film producer *

Chanda Rubin Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open, the quarterfinals of the French Open three times, and had wins over world N ...

(born 1976), American professional tennis player * Charles T. Rubin, political science professor * Danny Rubin, an American-Israeli basketball player *

Daphne Rubin-Vega Daphne Rubin-Vega ( Vega; born November 18, 1969) is a Panamanian-American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is best known for originating the roles of Mimi Marquez in the 1996 premiere of the Broadway musical '' Rent'' and Lucy in the ...

(born 1969), American dance music singer and actress *

Dave Rubin David Joshua Rubin (born June 26, 1976) is an American conservative political commentator. He is the creator and host of ''The Rubin Report'', a political talk show on YouTube and on the network BlazeTV. Launched in 2013, his show was origina ...

(born 1976), American comedian, talk show host and television personality *

Donald Rubin Donald Bruce Rubin (born December 22, 1943) is an Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Harvard University, where he chaired the department of Statistics for 13 years. He also works at Tsinghua University in China and at Temple University in Philad ...

, Professor of Statistics *

Donna Rubin Donna Rubin (born October 5, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. She represented the U.S. at the 1977 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a silver medal in doubles with Jodi Appelbaum-Steinbauer, and at the 1981 Maccabiah Games ...

(born 1959), American tennis player *

Eduard Rubin Eduard Alexander Rubin (17 July 1846 – 6 July 1920) was a Swiss mechanical engineer who is most notable for having invented the full metal jacket bullet in 1882. His most famous cartridge was the 7.5×55mm Swiss which was the standard amm ...

, Swiss Army, inventor of the first jacketed rifle bullets (1882) and co-inventor of the Schmidt–Rubin rifle *

Edgar John Rubin Edgar John Rubin (September 6, 1886 – May 3, 1951) was a Danish psychologist/ phenomenologist, remembered for his work on figure-ground perception as seen in such optical illusions like the Rubin vase. Born to Jewish parents, Rubin was born ...

(1886–1951) *

Ella Rubin Ella Rubin (born September 2, 2001) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the film ''The Rewrite'' (2014). She made her Broadway (theatre), Broadway debut in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of the Tennessee ...

(born 2001), American actress *

Enriqueta González Rubín Enriqueta González Rubín (17 April 1832 – 9 November 1877) was a Spanish writer. Her 1875 ''Viaxe del tío Pacho el Sordo a Uviedo'' is the earliest known novel published in Asturian. Early life and career Relatively little is known abo ...

(1832–1877), Spanish writer and journalist * Eric J. Rubin, Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health * Eric S. Rubin (born 1961), American diplomat and ambassador *

Erik Rubin The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

(born 1971), Mexican singer and actor. *

Gayle Rubin Gayle S. Rubin (born January 1, 1949) is an American cultural anthropologist, theorist and activist, best known for her pioneering work in feminist theory and queer studies. Her essay "The Traffic in Women" (1975) had a lasting influence in seco ...

(born 1949), American cultural anthropologist * Gerald M. Rubin, American geneticist *

Gretchen Rubin Gretchen Craft Rubin (born December 14, 1965) is an American author, blogger and speaker. Early life and education Born Gretchen Anne Craft, Gretchen Rubin grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where her father was a lawyer at the firm of Craft, Fri ...

(born 1965), American author and attorney * Harold Rubin, South African and Israeli artist and jazz clarinetist *

Harry Rubin (virologist) Harry Rubin (born June 23, 1926, in New York City) – February 2, 2020) was an American cell biologist and virologist. He is known for his experimental research on oncoviruses and how cellular microenvironment and cellular aging affect the regulat ...

(1926–2020), American virologist and cancer researcher * Harry M. Rubin (born 1952), American business executive *

Ian Rubin Ian Rubin (; born 17 April 1973) is a former Russia international rugby league footballer who played as a forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He played the majority of his professional career in the National Rugby League for the Sydney Roosters and ...

, Ukraine-born Australian rugby league footballer * Idan Rubin, Israeli football (soccer) player *

Ira Rubin Ira Rubin (1930 – February 6, 2013) was an American professional contract bridge player. Rubin attended the Bronx High School of Science and later New York University. Rubin lived in Fair Lawn and resided in nearby Paramus for 35 years. Rubin ...

(''c.'' 1930–2013), American bridge player *

Irv Rubin Irving David Rubin (April 12, 1945 – November 13, 2002) was a Canadian-born American political and religious activist who served as chairman of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) from 1985 to 2002. He committed suicide in jail when awaiting trial ...

(1946–2002), Canadian-born Kahanist *

Isaak Illich Rubin Isaak Illich Rubin (Russian language, Russian: Исаак Ильич Рубин; 12 June 1886 – 27 November 1937) was a Soviet Union, Soviet lawyer, Marxian economics , economist and scholar of Marx's work. His most important published work ...

(1886–1937), Soviet economist and Marxist theorist. *

James Rubin James Phillip Rubin (born March 28, 1960) is an American former diplomat and journalist who served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, assistant secretary of state for public affairs in the Clinton Administration, Clinton ad ...

(born 1960), U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, 1997–2000 * James H. Rubin, art historian, New York City *

Jay Rubin Jay Rubin (born 1941) is an American translator, writer, scholar and Japanologist. He is one of the main translators of the works of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami into English. He has also written a guide to Japanese, ''Making Sense of Jap ...

Jean E. Rubin Jean Estelle Hirsh Rubin (October 29, 1926 – October 25, 2002) was an American mathematician known for her research on the axiom of choice. She worked for many years as a professor of mathematics at Purdue University. Rubin wrote five books: thre ...

(1926–2002), American mathematician *

Jennifer Rubin (actress) Jennifer Collene Rubin (April 3, 1962) is an American actress. Her first major role was Taryn White in the 1987 horror film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' and has since starred in a variety of films including Andrew Fleming's ...

, American film and television actress. *

Jennifer Rubin (journalist) Jennifer Rubin (born June 11, 1962) is an American political commentator who wrote opinion columns for ''The Washington Post.'' On January 13, 2025, she announced that she had resigned from that newspaper to begin writing at a Substack named ''T ...

, blogger at The ''Washington Post'' *

Jerry Rubin Jerry Clyde Rubin (July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was an American social activist, anti-war leader, and counterculture icon during the 1960s and early 1970s. Despite being known for holding radical views when he was a political activist, h ...

, American political activist *

Karl Rubin Karl Cooper Rubin (born January 27, 1956) is an American mathematician at University of California, Irvine as Thorp Professor of Mathematics. Between 1997 and 2006, he was a professor at Stanford, and before that worked at Ohio State University b ...

, American mathematician *

Kathleen Rubins Kathleen Hallisey "Kate" Rubins (born October 14, 1978) is an American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. She became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 7 ...

(born 1978), American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. * Lillian B. Rubin (1924–2014), American sociologist and writer *

Lisa Rubin Lisa Rubin (born 12 November 1977) is a Canadian theatre director. She lives in Montreal, Canada and since 2014 she is the Artistic and executive director of Segal Centre for Performing Arts. Biography Rubin made her professional directorial de ...

(born 1977), Canadian theatre director. * Louis D. Rubin, Jr. (1923–2013), Southern literature scholar and publisher *

Marcel Rubin Marcel Rubin (7 July 1905 – 12 May 1995) was an Austrian composer. Born in Vienna, where he studied with Richard Robert and Franz Schmidt, he later emigrated to Paris, where he pursued further studies with Darius Milhaud. After living in Mexico ...

(1905–1995), Austrian composer *

Meyer Rubin Meyer Rubin (February 17, 1924 – May 2, 2020) was an American geologist known for his radiocarbon dating work with the United States Geological Survey. Early career After graduating from Englewood Technical Prep Academy, Englewood High Schoo ...

(1924–2020), American geologist * Michael Rubin, American scholar and commentator on Middle Eastern history and politics *

Miri Rubin Miri Rubin (; born 1956) is a historian and professor of medieval and early modern history at Queen Mary University of London. She was educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Cambridge, where she gained her doctorate a ...

, British medievalist * Noah Rubin (born 1996), American tennis player * Paul Rubin (1942–2024), American economist *

Paula Eliasoph Paula Eliasoph (née Pauline Rubin; 1895 – 1983) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and poet. She was most active in the 1920s and 1930s in New York City. Biography Paula Eliasoph was born as Pauline Rubin on October 26, 1895 ...

(1895–1983), born as Pauline Rubin, American painter, printmaker, poet, illustrator *

Philip Rubin Philip E. Rubin (born May 22, 1949) is an American cognitive scientist, technologist, and science administrator known for raising the visibility of behavioral and cognitive science, neuroscience, and ethical issues related to science, technolo ...

(born 1949), American cognitive scientist, technologist, and science administrator *

Reuven Rubin Reuven Rubin (, ; November 13, 1893 – October 13, 1974) was a Romanian-born Israeli painter and Israel's first ambassador to Romania. Biography Reuven Zelicovici (later Reuven Rubin) was born in Galaţi to a poor Romanian Jewish Hasidic f ...

(1893–1974), Israeli painter *

Richard Rubin (TV personality) Richard Rubin (born April 8, 1983) is an American television personality and entertainer best known for starring on the first season of the Ashton Kutcher-produced reality TV series ''Beauty and the Geek'', as well as for his work in Latin America ...

, American TV personality. *

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

, American record producer and record label owner *

Robert Rubin Robert Edward Rubin (born August 29, 1938) is an American retired banking executive, lawyer, and former Federal government of the United States, government official. He served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. secretary o ...

(born 1938), U.S. Treasury Secretary, 1995–1999 * Ron Rubin (disambiguation) * Sabine Rubin (born 1960), a French politician * Samuel M. Rubin ("Sam the Popcorn Man", 1918–2004), an American entrepreneur credited with the mass introduction of popcorn machines to cinemas *

Shelley Rubin Shelley Rubin is the widow of JDL International Chairman Irv Rubin, and is currently the chairman and CEO of the USA-based, Kahanist, Jewish Defense League, a group which was classified as "a right-wing terrorist group" by the FBI in 2001.

, chairman and CEO of the Jewish Defense League *Sherry Rubin, born

Sherry Arnstein Sherry Phyllis Arnstein, (née Rubin) (11 January 1930 – 19 January 1997) was the author of the highly influential journal article "A Ladder of Citizen Participation". Working as a special assistant to the assistant secretary at the U.S. Depar ...

(1930–1997), was an American public servant, author of influential papers in participatory decision-making *

Theodore Isaac Rubin Theodore Isaac Rubin (April 11, 1923 – February 16, 2019) was an American psychiatrist and author. Rubin was a past president of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis and the Karen Horney Institute for Psychoanalysis. He lived in New York ...

(1923–2019), American psychiatrist and author * Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American *

Uri Rubin Uri Rubin (; 1944 – 26 October 2021) was an Israeli academic who was a professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Tel Aviv University. His areas of research were early Islam (with special emphasis on the ''Qur'an''), ''Qur'an ...

, professor of Arabic and Islamic literature at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Vera Rubin Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studyi ...

(1928–2016), American astronomer * Yoram Rubin, bodyguard of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin

References

{{given name, type=both Surnames Surnames of Jewish origin

Given name

Surname

See also

References