Ronold
A masculine name derived from the Germanic elements "ro" meaning "famous" and "nold" meaning "ruler" or "power".
Name Census estimates that about 530 living Americans carry the first name Ronold. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ronold today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ronold births was 1950 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ronold. 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 Ronold is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ronolds were born before 1965.
People living today
530
~ 1 in 646,706 Americans
Peak year
1950
35 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1975 SSA rank
#4,690
Tracked since 1927
Census
Ronold in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 262 people with the first name Ronold, which placed it at #32,242 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
#32,242
National first-name rank
People counted
262
262 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ronold
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ronold is White at 66.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Hispanic (9.2%). 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 Ronold 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 Ronold at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.8% · 175
- Black or African American19.5% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 5
- Two or more races1.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Popularity
Ronold: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ronold from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 260 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ronold 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 Ronold during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ronolds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ronold
The name Ronold is a relatively uncommon given name with uncertain origins. It is believed to be a variant spelling of the name Ronald, which has its roots in the Old Norse language.
Ronald is derived from the Old Norse name Rögnvaldr, which is composed of the elements "rögn" meaning "advice" or "counsel" and "valdr" meaning "ruler" or "leader." The name Rögnvaldr can be translated as "one who rules with wisdom" or "counselor ruler."
The earliest recorded use of the name Ronald dates back to the 12th century in Scotland. It is thought to have been introduced to the region by the Norse Vikings who had settlements in the Scottish Isles and northern parts of Scotland.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Ronold was Ronold of Galloway, a Scottish nobleman and military leader who lived in the late 12th century. He played a significant role in the Scottish Wars of Independence against the English.
Another historical figure with the name Ronold was Ronold of Burgundy, a French crusader and knight who participated in the Third Crusade in the late 12th century. He fought alongside King Richard the Lionheart and was known for his bravery in battle.
In the 14th century, there was a prominent English cleric named Ronold of Canterbury. He served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1343 to 1349 and was known for his efforts in promoting education and literacy among the clergy.
During the Renaissance period, a notable Italian artist and architect named Ronold Ghiberti lived from 1378 to 1455. He is best known for his work on the famous bronze doors of the Baptistery of Florence, which are considered a masterpiece of Renaissance art.
In more recent history, one of the most famous individuals with the name Ronold was Ronold Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, who served from 1981 to 1989. He was born in 1911 and played a significant role in ending the Cold War and reviving the American economy during his presidency.
People
Ronold + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ronold 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
Ronold: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ronold?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 530 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ronold 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 646,706 US residents.
Is Ronold a common name?
We classify Ronold as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 865 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ronold most popular?
The single biggest year for Ronold was 1950, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ronold 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 Ronold in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 262 people with the name Ronold, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,242 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 Ronold 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 Ronold?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ronold appears almost entirely male. Of the 266 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Ronold?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ronold is White at 66.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Hispanic (9.2%). 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 Ronold most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ronold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.8% (175 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 Ronold in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ronold a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ronold 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 Ronold still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ronold 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 Ronold 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 share the name Ronold?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.