Rhonald
Rhonald is a name derived from the Old Saxon name Reinwalt, meaning "counsel ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Rhonald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rhonald today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhonald births was 1949 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhonald. 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 Rhonald is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rhonalds were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rhonald. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1949
9 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1970 SSA rank
#5,287
Tracked since 1926
Census
Rhonald in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 115 people with the first name Rhonald, which placed it at #51,185 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
#51,185
National first-name rank
People counted
115
115 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhonald
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhonald is White at 53.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.4%) and Black (12.2%). 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 Rhonald 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 Rhonald at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.9% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino17.4% · 20
- Black or African American12.2% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.6% · 11
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Rhonald: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhonald from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Rhonald remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhonald 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 Rhonald 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 Rhonald
The given name Rhonald is a unique and relatively uncommon name with a somewhat ambiguous origin. It is likely a variant spelling or a combination of the more traditional names Ronald and Reynold, both of which have roots in various European languages.
One possible explanation for the origin of Rhonald is that it is a blend of the English name Ronald and the French name Reynold. Ronald is derived from the Old Norse name Rögnvaldr, which means "ruler's counsellor" or "powerful ruler." Reynold, on the other hand, comes from the Germanic name Reinwald, which means "brave ruler."
Another theory suggests that Rhonald may be a variant spelling of the Scottish name Rannald or Ranald, which is derived from the Gaelic name Raghnall. This name is believed to have originated from the Old Norse name Rögnvaldr, similar to Ronald.
While there are no definitive historical records or ancient texts that specifically mention the name Rhonald, it is possible that it emerged as a variant or misspelling in different regions or cultures over time. Variant spellings and pronunciations of names were not uncommon in earlier eras, especially before standardized spelling became more widespread.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Rhonald was Rhonald McDonald, a Scottish-born farmer who immigrated to Canada in the late 18th century. Another notable figure was Rhonald Pritchard, a Welsh author and poet who lived from 1812 to 1891.
In the 20th century, there were a few individuals who bore the name Rhonald. Rhonald Stevenson was a British actor and playwright who lived from 1902 to 1978. Rhonald Bingham was an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Bingham Foundation in the mid-1900s.
More recently, Rhonald Blunden was a New Zealand rugby player who represented his country in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a member of the legendary "All Blacks" team and played in several international matches during his career.
While the name Rhonald is not as commonly used as its more traditional counterparts, it has a unique and intriguing history that spans various cultures and time periods. Its origins and meaning remain somewhat shrouded in mystery, adding to its distinctiveness and charm.
People
Rhonald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhonald 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
Rhonald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhonald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhonald 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Rhonald a common name?
We classify Rhonald as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhonald most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhonald was 1949, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhonald is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rhonald in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 115 people with the name Rhonald, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,185 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 Rhonald 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 Rhonald?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhonald appears almost entirely male. Of the 110 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Rhonald?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhonald is White at 53.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.4%) and Black (12.2%). 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 Rhonald most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rhonald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.9% (62 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 Rhonald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhonald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhonald in the SSA data are male. 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 Rhonald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhonald 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 Rhonald 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 people have Rhonald as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.