| Pronunciation | /ˈrɒnəld/[1] | 
|---|---|
| Gender | Male | 
| Language(s) | English | 
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old Norse, Old English | 
| Word/name | Rögnvaldr, Regenweald | 
| Derivation | regin + valdr or regen + weald | 
| Meaning | "advice", "decision" + "ruler" | 
| Other names | |
| Short form(s) | Ron | 
| Pet form(s) | Roni, Ronnie, Ronny | 
| Related names | Raghnall, Ronalda, Ronaldson, Rhona, Ronaldo, Reynold, Rainald, Renaud, Reinhold | 
Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr,[2] or possibly from Old English Regenweald.[3] In some cases Ronald is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Raghnall, a name likewise derived from Rögnvaldr.[4] The latter name is composed of the Old Norse elements regin ("advice", "decision") and valdr ("ruler").[5] Ronald was originally used in England and Scotland, where Scandinavian influences were once substantial, although now the name is common throughout the English-speaking world.[2] A short form of Ronald is Ron.[2] Pet forms of Ronald include Roni[6] and Ronnie.[2] Ronalda and Rhonda are feminine forms of Ronald.[7] Rhona, a modern name apparently only dating back to the late nineteenth century, may have originated as a feminine form of Ronald.[8] The names Renaud/Renault and Reynold/Reinhold are cognates from French and German respectively. The name Ronaldo is a cognate from Spanish and Portuguese.
People with the name
- Ronald I of Buganda
 - Ronald Acuña, Venezuelan baseball player
 - Ronald Alcock (died 1991), British stamp dealer and philatelic speaker
 - Ronalds Arājs, Latvian athlete
 - Ronald Arculli, Former chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Non-official Members Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong (Exco) and a senior partner at King & Wood Mallesons.
 - Ron Atkinson, English football manager
 - Ronald Bandell (1946–2015), Dutch mayor
 - Ronnie Barker (1929–2005), British comedian, known as one half of The Two Ronnies
 - Ronnie Belliard, retired American baseball player
 - Ronnie Biggs, British train robber
 - Ron Blomberg (born 1948), American major league baseball player
 - Ronald Breslow (1931–2017), American chemist
 - Ronald Burkle, American businessman
 - Ronnie Burns (actor), part-time actor best noted as the adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen
 - Ronnie Burns (Australian), Australian singer
 - Ronnie Burns (footballer), former Australian rules footballer with the Geelong and Adelaide Football Clubs
 - Ron Butlin (ice hockey) (1925–2014), Canadian ice hockey executive
 - Ronald Castree, British child murderer
 - Ronald Cerritos, Salvadoran footballer
 - Ronald Cheng, Hong Kong pop star and movie actor
 - Ron Chernow, American writer, journalist, historian and biographer
 - Ronalds Cinks, Latvian ice hockey player
 - Ronald D. Coleman, American politician
 - Ronald Colman, English actor
 - Ronnie Corbett, British comedian, known for his role as the other half of The Two Ronnies
 - Ronald de Boer, Dutch football (soccer) player
 - Ronald DeFeo Jr, American mass murder and family annihilator
 - Ronald dela Rosa (born 1962), Filipino politician and retired police general
 - Ronald de Mel (born 1925), Sri Lanka Minister of Finance from 1977 to 1988
 - Ron Dennis, British businessman
 - Ron DeSantis, American politician
 - Ronnie James Dio, American singer for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven and Hell
 - Ronald Fielding Dodd (c.1890–1958), Scottish architect
 - Ronald Dominique (born 1964), prolific American serial killer and rapist
 - Ronald dos Santos Lopes (born 1998), Brazilian footballer
 - Ronnie Drew, Irish singer and a founding member of The Dubliners
 - Ronald Dupree, American baseball player
 - Ron Eldard, American actor
 - Ronald Evans (1933–1990), American astronaut
 - Ronald Ferguson, father of Sarah, Duchess of York
 - Ronald Ferguson (economist), American researcher of the racial education achievement gap
 - Ronald Fisher (1890–1962), British statistician and geneticist
 - Ronald Florijn, Dutch rower
 - Ronald J. Garan, Jr., American astronaut
 - Ronald Girones, Cuban judoka
 - Ronald Gora, American swimmer
 - Ronald Green (1944-2012), American-Israeli basketball player
 - Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (1933-1995), English killer and robber
 - Ron McClure, Jazz bassist
 - Ronald McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun, British Conservative politician
 - Ron Greenwood (1921–2006), English football player and manager
 - Ron Guidry, American baseball pitcher, New York Yankees
 - Ron Hackenberger (born 1935), American businessman and car collector
 - Ronald Max Hartwell, Australian historian
 - Ronald Harvey (cricketer), English cricketer
 - Ronald A. Heifetz, cofounder of the Center for Public Leadership at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
 - Ronald Herd, American professional wrestler
 - Ronald K. Hoeflin, American philosopher
 - Ronald Holassie, Trinidad and Tobago long-distance runner
 - Ron Horsley, American author and illustrator
 - Ronald "Ron" Howard, American filmmaker and actor
 - L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), American author and the founder of the Church of Scientology
 - Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born 1953), American pornographic actor, filmmaker, actor, and stand-up comedian
 - Ronald Isley, R&B singer
 - Ron Johnson (born 1955), senior United States senator for Wisconsin
 - Ronald Jones (running back) (born 1997), American football player
 - Ron Jones (athlete), British track and field athlete
 - Ronald Joseph, American figure skater
 - Ronald Kapaz, Brazilian graphic designer
 - Ron Keel (born 1961), heavy metal vocalist and guitarist for a number of bands from the 1980s to the modern day
 - Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player
 - Ron Kind, American congressman
 - Ronald Klink, Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania
 - Ronald Koeman, Dutch football (soccer) player and coach
 - Ron LeFlore (athlete), Detroit Tigers
 - Ronald Lacey (1935–1991) British actor
 - Ronald Lanzoni, Costa Rican long-distance runner
 - Dr. Ronald Leung, Hong Kong politician and businessman in banking
 - Ron Mael, American musician and songwriter
 - Ronald Mallett, American physicist
 - Ronald Mason Jr., African-American university president
 - Rónald Matarrita, Costa Rican footballer
 - Ronald Méndez, Venezuelan volleyball player
 - Ronald Michaud, American cartoonist
 - Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and television producer
 - David Ronald Musgrove, Democratic politician and former governor of Mississippi, better known as "Ronnie Musgrove"
 - Ronald Clark O'Bryan (1944-1984), American murderer
 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, British snooker player
 - Ronald Patrick (born 1991), American football player
 - Ron Paul, Texan congressman
 - Ronald Pelton, American intelligence analyst and convicted spy
 - Ronald Pereira Martins (born 2001), Brazilian footballer
 - Ron Perlman, American actor
 - Ron Petersen (born 1934), American mycologist using the standard author abbreviation "R.H.Petersen"
 - Ronald Pofalla (born 1959), German politician and manager
 - Ronald Powell (born 1991), American football player
 - Ronald van Raak (born 1969), Dutch politician
 - Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), former actor, Governor of California and 40th President of the United States
 - Ronald Reid-Daly (1928–2010), Rhodesian military commander
 - Ronald Ringsrud, US author and emerald expert
 - Ron Rivest, American cryptographer
 - Ronald Santanna Rodrigues (born 1997), Brazilian footballer
 - Ron Saunders (1932–2019), English football player and manager
 - Ronald Scobie (1893–1969), British Army officer
 - Ronald "Bon" Scott, lead singer of AC/DC from 1974 to 1980
 - Ronald Schill, German judge and politician
 - Ronald L. Schlicher, American diplomat
 - Ronald Alan Schulz (1965–2005), American civilian contract worker killed in Iraq
 - Ronnie Schneider, American Rock and roll manager
 - Ronald Searle (1920–2011), British cartoonist
 - Ronald "Ron" Sexmith (born 1964), Canadian singer-songwriter
 - Ronald Gene Simmons (1940-1990), American spree killer and family annihilator
 - Ronald Steele, American basketball player
 - Ronald Stretton, British track cyclist
 - John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973), British writer
 - Ronald "Ronnie" Turner (1960-2022), American actor, singer, and youngest son of Tina Turner
 - Ron Underwood, American film director
 - Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., American musician and member of The Killers
 - Ronnie Van Zant (1948–1977), American musician
 - Ronald Venetiaan, former president of Suriname
 - Ronald Virag (born 1938), French cardiovascular surgeon
 - Ronald Washington (born 1952), American baseball player and manager
 - Ronnie Wood, British rock musician (The Rolling Stones), and artist
 - Ronald Wright (boxer) American professional boxer
 - Ronalds Žagars, Latvian former football goalkeeper
 - Ronald Zilberberg (born 1996), Israeli Olympic figure skater
 - Ronald Zoodsma (born 1966), Dutch volleyball player
 
Fictional people with the name
- Ronald Miller, a character in the American teen romantic comedy 1987 film Can't Buy Me Love
 - Ronald McDonald, mascot of McDonald's
 - Ronald the Cat, Nature Cat's next-door neighbor and arch-enemy
 - Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible's sidekick from the Disney animated series Kim Possible
 - Ron Swanson, the mustachioed libertarian director of the eponymous department in the sitcom Parks and Recreation.
 - Ron Weasley, a main character in Harry Potter, best friend of the title character
 - Ronald "Ronnie" Raymond, half of the DC Comics superhero Firestorm.
 - Ronald "Red" Daniels, main protagonist of Call of Duty: WWII.
 - Ronald Knox, a reaper in the manga Black Butler by Yana Toboso
 
See also
Citations
- ↑ Jones (1986) p. 427.
 - 1 2 3 4 Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald.
 - ↑ See Searle's Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum, page 397.
 - ↑ Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges 2006 p. 407; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Raghnall.
 - ↑ Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) pp. 234, 407; Hanks; Hodges (2003) §§ Raghnall, Ragnvald.
 - ↑ Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234.
 - ↑ Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald.
 - ↑ Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) pp. 230, 408; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Rhona.
 
References
- Hanks, P; Hodges, F (2003). A Dictionary of First Names (MOBI). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198606052.
 - Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K; Hodges, F (2006) [1990]. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.
 - Jones, D; Gimson, AC (1986) [1917]. Everyman's English Pronouncing Dictionary (14th ed.). J.M. Dent & Sons. OL 4296804M.
 - Searle, D (1897) [1897]. Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum. Cambridge University Press.