boys' name ★ peaked 1947

Ronald

Meaning advice Gender Boy Rank 2025 #638 Trend ↓ Falling 12%

Anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Raghnall, itself derived from Old Norse Rǫgnvaldr, from rǫgn (“advice”) + valdr (“power”), later partly merged with the Continental…

Rank 2025
#638
among boys · ↓63 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
438
named Ronald · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,900
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1947
34,972 babies
All-time total
1,086,091
#27 all-time among boys
First recorded
1883
in Social Security records

Ronald popularity over time

1,086,091 babies have been named Ronald since 1883, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
6.2512.518.752518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 63 63 6 – #521
1890s – 209 209 21 +232% #319
1900s – 616 616 62 +195% #218
1910s 5 5,301 5,306 531 +761% #155
1920s 111 20,894 21,005 2,101 +296% #45
1930s 482 140,332 140,814 14,081 +570% #10
1940s 701 282,489 283,190 28,319 +101% #9
1950s 715 271,139 271,854 27,185 -4% #12
1960s 800 182,190 182,990 18,299 -33% #21
1970s 598 81,730 82,328 8,233 -55% #29
1980s 375 46,670 47,045 4,705 -43% #58
1990s 57 26,681 26,738 2,674 -43% #97
2000s – 13,645 13,645 1,365 -49% #203
2010s – 7,356 7,356 736 -46% #342
2020s (to 2025) – 2,932 2,932 489 -34% #559

Where Ronald is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 429 0.25 outside top 500
2027 421 0.25 outside top 500
2028 415 0.24 outside top 500
2029 410 0.24 outside top 500
2030 405 0.24 outside top 500

Where Ronald is most popular

Boys named Ronald per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.281 per 1,000. Strongest in Alaska, Montana, and Maryland.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Ronald born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Alaska 11 0.924 +228%
Montana 11 0.624 +122%
Maryland 69 0.579 +106%
Louisiana 53 0.518 +84%
Pennsylvania 125 0.471 +67%
Missouri 65 0.469 +67%
Michigan 91 0.444 +58%
Ohio 116 0.438 +56%
South Carolina 44 0.426 +51%
Florida 201 0.425 +51%
Kentucky 40 0.399 +42%
Virginia 73 0.385 +37%
Indiana 59 0.368 +31%
Alabama 39 0.357 +27%
New Jersey 70 0.348 +24%
Illinois 86 0.336 +20%
North Carolina 85 0.333 +18%
Connecticut 22 0.325 +16%
Massachusetts 43 0.313 +11%
Wisconsin 36 0.304 +8%
Tennessee 53 0.294 ≈ national
New York 127 0.293 ≈ national
Washington 47 0.287 ≈ national
Georgia 72 0.284 ≈ national
Colorado 36 0.279 ≈ national
Idaho 11 0.269 ≈ national
Arizona 38 0.232 -17%
California 200 0.219 -22%
Texas 184 0.209 -26%
Arkansas 13 0.205 -27%
Nevada 11 0.193 -31%
Kansas 12 0.175 -38%
Oklahoma 14 0.158 -44%
Minnesota 19 0.155 -45%
West Virginia 5 0.153 -46%
Iowa 10 0.145 -48%
Utah 5 0.052 -81%
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ronald

Ronald is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #638 in 2025 with 438 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1883, 1,086,091 American babies have been named Ronald. Its peak came in 1947, when 34,972 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ronald stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ronald?

The median living Ronald is about 67 years old; half are between 56 and 75. An estimated 691 thousand people named Ronald are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ronald year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 438 #638
2024 – – 497 #575
2023 – – 457 #613
2022 – – 532 #559
2021 – – 505 #562
2020 – – 503 #559
2019 – – 541 #527
2018 – – 588 #491
2017 – – 660 #462
2016 – – 728 #429
2015 – – 704 #435
2014 – – 791 #394
2013 – – 745 #402
2012 – – 797 #378
2011 – – 889 #342
2010 – – 913 #343
2009 – – 926 #341
2008 – – 1,089 #307
2007 – – 1,175 #293
2006 – – 1,374 #249
2005 – – 1,302 #255
2004 – – 1,450 #232
2003 – – 1,406 #237
2002 – – 1,521 #227
2001 – – 1,652 #212
2000 – – 1,750 #203
1995 – – 2,400 #146
1990 15 #6,066 3,899 #97
1985 33 #2,845 4,299 #71
1980 40 #2,426 5,757 #58
1975 58 #1,669 7,064 #46
1970 78 #1,349 13,618 #29
1965 69 #1,319 17,619 #24
1960 82 #1,210 21,714 #21
1955 70 #1,206 26,172 #18
1950 68 #1,121 29,908 #12
1945 55 #1,058 23,665 #10
1940 58 #952 20,741 #10
1935 51 #972 15,489 #12
1930 38 #1,230 5,635 #37
1925 11 #3,086 1,674 #104
1920 – – 832 #168
1915 – – 763 #155
1910 – – 118 #215
1905 – – 51 #279
1900 – – 40 #348
1895 – – 25 #389
1890 – – 20 #411
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Ronald

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 1911–2004 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman Dutch football manager (born 1963) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ronald Lauder Ronald Lauder American businessman (born 1944) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ronald Speirs Ronald Speirs US Army officer (1920-2007) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ronald Wayne Ronald Wayne American businessperson and co-founder of Apple (born 1934) Contemporary
  6. 6 Ronald McNair Ronald McNair American astronaut and physicist (1950–1986) Contemporary
  7. 7 Ronald Lacey Ronald Lacey British actor (1935–1991) Contemporary
  8. 8 Ronald Fisher Ronald Fisher British polymath (1890–1962) 19th century
  9. 9 Ronald Colman Ronald Colman British and American actor (1891–1958) 19th century
  10. 10 Ronald de Boer Ronald de Boer Dutch footballer (born 1970) Contemporary
  11. 11 Ronald Evans Ronald Evans American astronaut and lunar explorer (1933–1990) Contemporary
  12. 12 Ronald Dworkin Ronald Dworkin American legal philosopher (1931–2013) Contemporary
  13. 13 Ronald Ross Ronald Ross British Indian medical doctor and Nobel laureate (1857–1932) 19th century
  14. 14 Ronald Knox Ronald Knox English Catholic priest and author (1888–1957) 19th century
  15. 15 Ronald Coase Ronald Coase British economist and Nobel laureate (1910–2013) Contemporary
  16. 16 Ronald Venetiaan Ronald Venetiaan President of Suriname (1991–1996; 2000–2010) b. 1937 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Ronald Graham Ronald Graham American mathematician (1935–2020) Contemporary
  18. 18 Ronald Neame Ronald Neame English filmmaker and cinematographer (1911–2010) Contemporary
  19. 19 Ronald Harwood South African playwright and novelist (1934–2020) Contemporary
  20. 20 Ronald Syme Ronald Syme New Zealand born British historian and classicist (1903–1989) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ronald, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ronald?

The median living Ronald is about 67 years old. Half of all living Ronalds are between 56 and 75 years old.

How many people named Ronald are alive today?

An estimated 691 thousand people named Ronald are alive in the United States, based on 1,086,091 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ronald mean?

Anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Raghnall, itself derived from Old Norse Rǫgnvaldr, from rǫgn (“advice”) + valdr (“power”), later partly merged with the Continental Germanic equivalent Reynold.

How popular is the name Ronald in 2025?

Ronald ranked #638 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 438 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ronald?

1,086,091 babies have been named Ronald in the United States since 1883, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ronald most popular?

Ronald peaked in 1947, when 34,972 newborns received the name.

Is Ronald a boy or girl name?

Ronald is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ronald rising or falling?

Ronald is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ronald become more popular?

Ronald is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 405 boys named Ronald in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ronald?

Well-known people named Ronald include Ronald Reagan (politician), Ronald Koeman (coach), Ronald Lauder (politician).

Names like Ronald

Names that sound and feel close to Ronald: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ronald with similar names → More names starting with R →