Ronald

Norse

"ruler's counselor"

Ronald Origin and Meaning

The name Ronald is a boy's name of Scandinavian, Norse origin meaning "ruler's counselor".

To many people, Ronald is off playing shuffleboard with Donald, though others aren't swayed by its old man image. In the Top 10 in the late 1930s through the mid-1940s, the name later came to be strongly associated with President Reagan, along with his nicknames, Ron and Ronnie—as well as with the McDonald franchise mascot. A more youthful bearer is the likable character Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series. In the early days of Hollywood, Ronald Colman was a dashing matinee idol.

It was the Vikings who brought the name to England and Scotland. In the US, it first appeared on the charts in 1883, moving up to the Top 20 from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Ronald Rank in US Top 1000

# 612 in the US

Ronald Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 943 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Ronald

• 612 US 2023
• 943 Nameberry 2025
• 701 Future 2028
• 699 England 2023

20 Names Similar to Ronald

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ronald.

• Carl
• Douglas
• Richard
• Dennis
• Raymond
• Martin
• Larry
• Jerry
• Gregory
• Donald
• Phillip
• Bruce
• Tom
• Roger
• Paul
• Norman
• Gerald
• Frederik
• Karl
• Howard

Famous People Named Ronald

• Ronald Wilson Reagan 40th U.S. president
• Ronald William "Ron" Howard American actor director
• Ronald Aylmer Fisher English statistician and geneticist
• Ronald Charles Colman English actor
• Ronald Isley American singer
• Ronald Duddley Moore American screenwriter
• (Arthur Annesley) Ronald Firbank British novelist
• Ronald Fields better known by his stage name Cougnut, American rapper
• Ronald Jason "Ron" Eldard American actor
• Ronald Joseph "Ronnie" Radke American singer
• Ronald Ross English physician and Nobel Prizewinner
• Ronald Koeman Dutch footballer
• Ronald George Wreyford Norrish winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Ronald Harry Coase winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
• Ronald Wayne "Ron" Burkle American billionaire, investor and philanthropist
• Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott Scottish born, Australian lead singer of AC/DC

The name Ronald in Pop Culture

• Ronald "Ron" Swanson character in Parks and Recreation
• Ronald "Ron" Stoppable character from Kim Possible
• Ronald McDonald McDonald's mascot
• Ronald "Mac" McDonald character on the TV series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
• Ronald Leslie main character in G. A. Henty's, Bonnie Prince Charlie
• Ronald "Ronnie" Raymond aka Firestorm character on TV's "The Flash"
• Ronald Miller main character from the movie "Can't Buy Me Love"

International Variations of the name Ronald

• Naldo Spanish
• Rey Spanish
• Ranaldo Spanish
• Raghnall Irish
• Reynaldo Spanish
• Raynaldo Spanish
• Rainald Spanish
• Reinaldo Spanish
• Rinhaldo Portuguese
• Renaldo Spanish