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 Azuma, American computer scientist
- 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 (singer), 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 (1925–2024), 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 (polo), 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
- 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 (disambiguation), several people
- 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
- Ronald Kent Jr. (born 1999), American football player
- Ron Kind, American congressman
- Ronald Klink, Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania
- Ronald Koeman, Dutch football (soccer) player and coach
- Ronald Kray, English gangster
- 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
- Ronald Russell (disambiguation), Multiple people
- 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
- Ron Washington (born 1952), American baseball player and manager
- Ronald "Ronnie" Washington (born 1963), American football player
- 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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
Names derived from or cognates of Rǫgnvaldr | ||
|---|---|---|
| Given names |  | |
| Surnames | ||
| Diminutives | ||