Reuby is my husband’s family name, and I have about 55 in my tree, the oldest being Philip, born in Ireland in 1814. It’s often mis-spelled, and Philip’s surname was spelled Rubie in the records I’ve found. Considering the mis-spellings that come through my letter box every day, I can’t complain about the variations I need to search for in old records.
Philip’s son, also Philip, was born in Cork in 1836, and moved to London before his marriage in 1863. There are a surprisingly large number of Reubys in London around that time, possibly related, although I haven’t traced all the descendants of his brothers and sisters yet. Philip himself had 16 children that I’ve traced so far, so there are plenty of his descendants to look for.
Reuby often appears in US records as a given name, although if this is just a variation on “Ruby” I can’t discover.
I don’t recall seeing the name spelled Reuby. Do you think it comes from the name Reuben?
Posted by Free Genealogy Guide | January 15, 2011, 11:13 pmThat’s a good possibility for the men, Reubens in my family often had their name shortened to Rue, and occasionally Reub. I’ve seen it used for women, when I’ve assumed it’s either a variation of Ruby, or possibly a family name used as a given name in memory of a relative.
Posted by pramclub | January 16, 2011, 3:13 pm