Roni
A diminutive form of the Hebrew name Ronen, meaning "joy" or "song".
Name Census estimates that about 4,727 living Americans carry the first name Roni. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Roni today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Roni births was 1955 (307 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Roni. 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.
People living today
4.7K
~ 1 in 72,510 Americans
Peak year
1955
307 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,594
Tracked since 1939
Gender
Gender distribution for Roni
Roni leans heavily female at 85.3% of total registrations, but 811 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Roni as a male name
- Ranked #5,594 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (44 births)
Roni as a female name
- Ranked #7,166 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1955 (295 births)
Popularity
Roni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Roni from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,012 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Roni 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 Roni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ronis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Roni, while North Carolina, Georgia, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 79 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Roni
The name Roni is a unisex name that has its origins in various cultures and languages around the world. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew name Ronen, which means "joyful song" or "melodious" in the Hebrew language.
In ancient times, the name Roni was used in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in regions with strong Jewish and Arabic cultural influences. The earliest recorded use of the name Roni can be traced back to the Biblical era, where it is mentioned in the Book of Judges, which dates back to the 12th century BCE.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Roni was Roni ben Hodesh, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 10th century CE in Spain. He was known for his contributions to the study of the Talmud and his writings on Jewish law and ethics.
In the 12th century, there was a famous Arabic poet named Roni al-Quds, who was born in Jerusalem and wrote numerous poems praising the city and its cultural heritage. His works are still celebrated today as part of the rich literary tradition of the region.
During the Renaissance period, the name Roni gained popularity in Italy, where it was often used as a shortened form of the Italian name Geronimo. One notable figure from this era was Roni da Vinci, a distant relative of the famous artist Leonardo da Vinci, who was a skilled sculptor and architect in his own right.
In the 19th century, the name Roni was also used in various parts of Europe, including France and Germany. A notable French artist who bore this name was Roni Degas, a painter and sculptor who was part of the Impressionist movement and was known for his depictions of dancers and scenes from everyday life.
Another famous individual with the name Roni was Roni Kruger, a South African freedom fighter and anti-apartheid activist who was a prominent member of the African National Congress (ANC) and played a significant role in the struggle against racial segregation in South Africa during the 20th century.
While the name Roni has been used across various cultures and time periods, it has maintained its connection to its Hebrew roots and continues to be a popular choice for parents seeking a name with a rich historical and cultural significance.
People
Roni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Roni 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
Roni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Roni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,727 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Roni 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 72,510 US residents.
Is Roni a common name?
We classify Roni as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,500 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Roni most popular?
The single biggest year for Roni was 1955, when 307 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Roni is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Roni a female name?
Yes, 85.3% of people registered as Roni 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.
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.