Ronald

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled רונלד in IL Israel.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Ronald is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name1.7M records spelled Ronald20 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Peru, Venezuela

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Rónald, Rönäld, R'Onald, Rönâld, Rönald

• a separate given name256K records spelled Ronald3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Ron-Ald, Rónald

• Indonesian given name72K records spelled Ronald6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malagasy, Malay

  Also written 'Ronald, Rönald, Ŕöņald

• Polish given name54K records spelled Ronald26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

  Also written Рональд, Роналд, 'Ronald, Ronal'D, Winky

• Hungarian given name20K records spelled Ronald8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, United States, Finland, United Kingdom

  Languages: Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Ronáld, Rônằld, Rônäld, Rónáld, Rönäld

• Greek given name20K records spelled Ronald3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Ronalnt, Ροναλντ

79 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Ronald is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Scottish/English form of Reginald; from Germanic 'counsel' + 'rule'.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In English, Scottish equivalent of Reynold, from ON Rqgnvaldr via Olr Ragnall and Gael Raonull; first attested John Rannald 1463 Black

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In Irish, Norse name from Régnvaldr, via Scottish Gaelic Raonuli; still used in modern Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• From the Old Norse personal name Rognvaldr (see Ranald). This name was regularly used in the Middle Ages in northern England and Scotland, where Scandinavian influence was strong. It is now widespread throughout the English-speaking world. Short form: Ron. Pet form: Ronnie. poem Roisin Dubh,; in it the name is used as a figurative allusion to the Irish nation.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A male given name from the Germanic languages.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 142 years between 1883–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ronald Rossb. 1857GBBritish doctor, Nobel laureate, writer, and artist (1857–1932)
• Ronald Fisherb. 1890GBBritish statistician, evolutionary biologist and geneticist (1890–1962)
• Ronald Colmanb. 1891GBBritish actor (1891–1958)
• J. R. R. Tolkienb. 1892GBnot in their usual nameEnglish writer and philologist (1892–1973)
• Ronald Reaganb. 1911USpresident of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and actor (1911–2004)
• Ron Paulb. 1935USnot in their usual nameAmerican politician (born 1935)
• Ronald Venetiaanb. 1936SRSurinamese politician (1936–2025)
• Merle Haggardb. 1937USnot in their usual nameAmerican country music songwriter, singer, and musician (1937–2016)
• Ron DeSantisb. 1978USnot in their usual nameAmerican politician (born 1978)
• Ronald Araújob. 1999UYUruguayan footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,585 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Ronald?

We estimate roughly 764 thousand people bear Ronald (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Ronald have the most bearers?

We estimate about 689 thousand people bear Ronald in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled ronald.

Where is Ronald most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Ronald is densest in Costa Rica — about 1 in 381 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Ronald compared with other names?

In the United States, Ronald is the 49th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Ronald a male or female name?

Ronald is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Ronald mean?

Recorded meaning: From Gaelic Raonull, from Old Norse Rognvaldr, meaning 'counsel-rule'.