Ragnhild
A feminine Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse meaning "counsel of god" or "god's counsel".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Ragnhild. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ragnhild today is around 97 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ragnhild births was 1915 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ragnhild. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Ragnhild is about 97 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ragnhilds were born before 1939.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ragnhild. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1915
8 babies that year
Average age
97
years old
1931 SSA rank
#4,843
Tracked since 1900
Census
Ragnhild in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 137 people with the first name Ragnhild, which placed it at #47,543 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#47,543
National first-name rank
People counted
137
137 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ragnhild
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ragnhild is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Black (2.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ragnhild described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ragnhild at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 125
- Black or African American2.2% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 3
- Two or more races1.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Ragnhild: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ragnhild from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 35 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ragnhild by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ragnhild during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ragnhild
The name Ragnhild has its origins in Old Norse and is a combination of two words, "ragn" meaning "divine power" or "counsel" and "hildr" meaning "battle" or "war". It was a popular name among the Vikings and Scandinavian people during the Middle Ages.
The name is believed to have been derived from the Old Norse goddess Hildr, who was associated with battle and war. Ragnhild was often given to girls born into powerful Viking families, with the hope that they would grow up to be strong and courageous women.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ragnhild can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas recount the lives and adventures of the Norse people during the Viking Age.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women who bore the name Ragnhild. One of the most famous was Ragnhild Eriksdotter (1109-1163), a Swedish princess and the daughter of King Erik IX of Sweden. She was known for her piety and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Another notable Ragnhild was Ragnhild Håkonsdotter (1210-1257), a Norwegian princess and the daughter of King Håkon IV of Norway. She played an important role in Norwegian politics and was involved in the selection of her nephew as the next king.
In the 16th century, Ragnhild Eriksdotter (1530-1586) was a Swedish noblewoman and a prominent figure during the Northern Seven Years' War between Sweden and Denmark. She was known for her intelligence and her support for the Protestant Reformation.
During the 19th century, Ragnhild Johansdotter (1808-1889) was a Swedish author and educator who wrote several books on the education of children and women's rights. She was also one of the first female teachers in Sweden.
Another notable Ragnhild was Ragnhild Brynjulfsdotter (1894-1981), a Norwegian painter and sculptor who was known for her landscapes and portraits. She was a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Norway and her works are displayed in several museums across the country.
People
Ragnhild + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ragnhild as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ragnhild: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ragnhild?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ragnhild going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Ragnhild a common name?
We classify Ragnhild as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ragnhild most popular?
The single biggest year for Ragnhild was 1915, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ragnhild is about 97 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ragnhild in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 137 people with the name Ragnhild, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,543 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ragnhild in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ragnhild?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ragnhild appears almost entirely female. Of the 132 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ragnhild?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ragnhild is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Black (2.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ragnhild most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ragnhild in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (125 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ragnhild in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ragnhild a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ragnhild in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ragnhild still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ragnhild in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ragnhild can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Ragnhild?
Find out how many Americans are named Ragnhild on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.