boy's name
Ronald
RON-uld
- Origin Norse
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 1,094,255
the United States
#638
2025 births
Ronald is a boy's name from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, meaning ruler's counsel, brought to Scotland by Norse settlement. It ranks almost identically in England and Wales at 635th and the United States at 638th, which is a rare symmetry for a name of this age.
- Ronald is a name of Norse origin.
- Peaked in 1947, when 34,972 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,569 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1883.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ronald 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 | 63 |
| 1890s | 209 |
| 1900s | 616 |
| 1910s | 5,306 |
| 1920s | 21,005 |
| 1930s | 140,814 |
| 1940s | 283,190 |
| 1950s | 271,854 |
| 1960s | 182,990 |
| 1970s | 82,328 |
| 1980s | 47,045 |
| 1990s | 26,738 |
| 2000s | 13,645 |
| 2010s | 7,356 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,932 |
What Ronald means
Ronald means ruler's counsel, or one who rules by counsel. The Norse original joins a word for the gods or ruling powers to one meaning ruler, so the sense is authority exercised through advice.
Where Ronald comes from
Ronald is the Scottish form of the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, from regin — the gods, or ruling powers — joined to valdr, ruler. Norse settlement in the Hebrides and the Northern Isles carried it into Scotland, where it became thoroughly Gaelicized as Raghnall and then anglicized back as Ronald. The same Norse name reached Normandy and returned to Britain as Reginald with the Normans, so Ronald and Reginald are the same name arriving twice by different routes several centuries apart — Ronald by longship, Reginald by conquest.
Ronald in use
Ronald peaked in the United States in 1947, when 34,972 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 635th in England and Wales on 59 births and 638th in the United States on 438, a near-identical position in two markets of very different size, alongside 716th in Scotland. Across 1,092,449 lifetime births it charts in four of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Ronald?
In 2025, Ronald was given to 438 babies in the United States, ranking #638 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ronald 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 Ronald
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ronald also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ronald over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Ronald
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.
Ronald 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 Ronald
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ronald — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ronald
What does the name Ronald mean?
Ruler's counsel, from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr.
Is Ronald related to Reginald?
Yes — the same Norse name, arriving in Britain twice. Ronald came through Scotland with Norse settlement, Reginald through Normandy with the Conquest.
Is Ronald a Scottish name?
It became one. The source is Norse, but Scotland is where it took root and where the anglicized form was made.
How popular is Ronald?
638th in the United States and 635th in England and Wales, down from a 1947 peak of 34,972 births.
Is Ronald a girl's or a boy's name?
Ronald is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ronald?
Ronald has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Ronald?
Ronald is usually shortened to Ron and Ronnie.
Is Ronald a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ronald currently ranks #635 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.