Ronald

“Advice and power” — Old Norse via Scottish Gaelic origin

Boy's name · #638 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Ronald is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1941, when it ranked #9. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 1.1 million boys since 1883, ranked #638 today. Ronald's short forms are Ron, Ronnie, and Ronny.

Around the world: about 1 in 4,600 boys in England & Wales (2025) · about 1 in 11,000 boys in Canada (2024) · about 1 in 12,000 boys in Switzerland (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 35 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Ronalds

Ronald Reagan — president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and actor (1911–2004)
Ronald Ross — British doctor, Nobel laureate, writer, and artist (1857–1932)
Ronald Koeman — Dutch association football player and coach
Ronald Coase — British economist and Nobel laureate (1910–2013)
Ronald Fisher — British statistician, evolutionary biologist and geneticist (1890–1962)

In stories & tradition

Ronald (Ron Weasley) — Harry Potter · Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Ronald McDonald — The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald
Ronald Opus — fictional human

What Ronalds become

Among 3,331 notable people named Ronald:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.65× more often than among typical names — e.g. Ronald Coase, British economist and Nobel laureate (1910–2013).

Similar names: Ronnie · Donald · Roger · Douglas · Gerald · Randy

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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