girl's name
Ramona
ruh-MOH-nuh
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 72,528
the United States
#733
2025 births
Ramona means protecting counsel, and a novel made it — Helen Hunt Jackson wrote Ramona in 1884 to expose the treatment of Native Californians, and readers took the romance and ignored the argument. We record 72,088 lifetime births for it, strongest in the United States.
- Ramona is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1928, when 2,251 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 8,888 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Ramona over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 55 |
| 1890s | 232 |
| 1900s | 491 |
| 1910s | 2,212 |
| 1920s | 7,716 |
| 1930s | 10,170 |
| 1940s | 7,821 |
| 1950s | 14,687 |
| 1960s | 12,980 |
| 1970s | 5,815 |
| 1980s | 2,367 |
| 1990s | 1,115 |
| 2000s | 881 |
| 2010s | 2,432 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,149 |
What Ramona means
Ramona means protecting counsel, or wise protector. The Germanic joins a word for advice to one meaning protection, so both halves describe what a leader owes.
Where Ramona comes from
Ramona is the Spanish feminine of Ramon, from the Germanic Raginmund — ragin, counsel, joined to mund, protection, carried into Iberia by the Visigoths. Helen Hunt Jackson published Ramona in 1884 intending it as an indictment of how Native Californians were treated after the American annexation; it sold enormously, and readers embraced the Southern California romance while the political case went largely unheard. Our data marks the name reviving.
Ramona in use
Ramona peaked in the United States in 1928, when 2,251 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It charts in three of the seven markets we track — 733rd in the United States on 373 births, 1606th in England and Wales on 17 and 1635th in Canada — across 72,528 lifetime births. Ramon, its masculine, is written up separately and is falling rather than reviving.
How popular is Ramona?
In 2025, Ramona was given to 373 babies in the United States, ranking #733 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ramona is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ramona
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ramona also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ramona over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Ramona
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Ramona in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Ramona
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ramona — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ramona
What does the name Ramona mean?
Protecting counsel — the Germanic ragin, advice, joined to mund, protection.
Is Ramona from a novel?
Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 book made it popular. She intended a political indictment; readers took a romance.
Is Ramona related to Raymond?
Yes — the Spanish feminine of the same Germanic name.
Is Ramona coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, at 733rd in the United States.
How popular is the name Ramona?
In 2025, Ramona was given to 373 babies in the United States, ranking #733 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Ramona a girl's or a boy's name?
Ramona is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ramona?
Ramona has 3 syllables.
When was Ramona most popular?
Ramona peaked in 1928, when 2,251 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Ramona?
Ramona is usually shortened to Mona.
Is Ramona a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ramona currently ranks #733 in the United States. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.