Ronnette
A feminine diminutive variant of the name Rhona or Rona.
Name Census estimates that about 645 living Americans carry the first name Ronnette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ronnette today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ronnette births was 1970 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ronnette. 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
645
~ 1 in 531,402 Americans
Peak year
1970
58 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1994 SSA rank
#11,503
Tracked since 1946
Census
Ronnette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 645 people with the first name Ronnette, which placed it at #17,212 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
#17,212
National first-name rank
People counted
645
645 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ronnette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ronnette is Black at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (34.0%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Ronnette 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 Ronnette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.8% · 308
- White34.0% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 39
- Two or more races5.7% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 12
Popularity
Ronnette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ronnette from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 305 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
Ronnette 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 Ronnette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ronnettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Ronnette, while Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ronnette
Ronnette is a feminine given name of English origin, believed to have emerged in the 19th century as a diminutive or pet form of the name Rhona. The name Rhona itself is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "ronach," meaning "rough" or "shaggy," possibly referring to the rugged terrain of the Scottish Highlands.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ronnette can be traced back to the late 19th century in England and Scotland. While not extensively documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name gained popularity as a distinctly English variant of the more common Scottish name Rhona.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Ronnette was Ronnette Leadbetter, born in 1885 in Lancashire, England. She was a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights, championing equal educational opportunities for girls in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure in history was Ronnette Sinclair (1901-1988), a Scottish-born artist renowned for her vibrant landscape paintings depicting the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands. Her works are featured in several prestigious art galleries across the United Kingdom.
In the realm of literature, Ronnette Willoughby (1912-1997) was an acclaimed American novelist and short story writer. Her debut novel, "The Willow Tree," published in 1939, explored themes of love, loss, and resilience against the backdrop of rural America.
Moving into the 20th century, Ronnette Devereaux (1925-2011) was a French resistance fighter during World War II, known for her bravery and unwavering commitment to the Allied cause. She received numerous honors and decorations for her service, including the Croix de Guerre.
More recently, Ronnette Courtney (born 1957) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for her contributions to the country and folk music genres. She has released several critically acclaimed albums and continues to tour and perform worldwide.
While not an exhaustive list, these individuals exemplify the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have carried the name Ronnette throughout history, spanning various fields and eras.
People
Ronnette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ronnette 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
Ronnette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ronnette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 645 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ronnette 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 531,402 US residents.
Is Ronnette a common name?
We classify Ronnette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 749 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ronnette most popular?
The single biggest year for Ronnette was 1970, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ronnette is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ronnette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 645 people with the name Ronnette, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,212 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 Ronnette 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 Ronnette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ronnette appears almost entirely female. Of the 638 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Ronnette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ronnette is Black at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (34.0%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Ronnette most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ronnette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.8% (308 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 Ronnette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ronnette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ronnette 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 Ronnette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ronnette 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 Ronnette 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 Ronnette as a first name?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Ronnette at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.