Ronald is a masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

Rögnvaldr Ragnvald, Rögnvald or Rognvald or Rægnald is an Old Norse language, Old Norse name (Old Norse ''Rǫgnvaldr'', modern Icelandic ''Rögnvaldur''; in Old English language, Old English ''Regenweald'' and in Old Irish, Middle Irish language, Middle Iri ...

'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

'' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an

Anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

form of the Gaelic '' Raghnall'', a name likewise derived from ''Rögnvaldr''. The latter name is composed of the Old Norse elements ''regin'' ("advice", "decision") and ''valdr'' ("ruler"). ''Ronald'' was originally used in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, where Scandinavian influences were once substantial, although now the name is common throughout the

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

. A short form of ''Ronald'' is ''Ron''.

Pet form A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' for Isabel or '' Bob'' for Robert, or it ...

s of ''Ronald'' include ''Roni'' and '' Ronnie''. ''Ronalda'' and ''Rhonda'' are feminine forms of ''Ronald''. ''

Rhona Rhona is the name of: * Rhona Adair (1878–1961), British golf champion * Rhona Bennett (born 1976), American singer, actress and model * Rhona Brankin (born 1950), Labour Co-operative politician and Member of the Scottish Parliament * Rhona ...

'', a modern name apparently only dating back to the late nineteenth century, may have originated as a feminine form of ''Ronald''. Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) pp. 230, 408; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Rhona. The names ''Renaud''/''Renault'' and ''Reynold''/''Reinhold'' are cognates from French and German respectively. The name ''Ronaldo'' is a cognate from Spanish and Portuguese.

People with the name

* Ronald I of Buganda *

Ronald Acuña Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

, Venezuelan baseball player *

Ronald Alcock Ronald Cecil Alcock (26 March 1905 – 6 July 1991) was a British stamp dealer and philatelic publisher notable for writing or publishing some of the key works in British philately. He collaborated with Captain Frank Holland in many of his works. ...

(died 1991), British stamp dealer and philatelic speaker *

Ronald Alley Ronald Edgar Alley (12 March 1926 – 25 April 1999) was a British art historian and curator. He was keeper of the modern collection at the Tate Gallery, London from 1965 to 1986. Ronald Alley was born in Bristol on 12 March 1926 and educated ...

(1926–1999), British art historian and curator *

Ronalds Arājs Ronalds Arājs (born 29 November 1987 in Tukums) is a Latvian athlete. Arājs is the current Latvian record holder in the 100 metres sprint, having a personal best of 10.18 seconds. His personal record in the 200 metres is 20.75 seconds. Arā ...

, Latvian athlete *

Ronald Arculli Ronald Joseph Arculli (; born 2 January 1939 in Hong Kong) is former chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Non-official Members Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong (Exco) and a senior partner at King & Wood Mallesons. He ...

, Former chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Non-official Members Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong (Exco) and a senior partner at King & Wood Mallesons. *

Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939) is an English former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Ron", he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed "The Tank" during his ...

, English football manager *

Ronald Azuma Ronald Azuma is an American computer scientist, widely recognized for contributing to the field of augmented reality (AR). His work ''A survey of augmented reality'' became the most cited article in the AR field and is one of the most influential ...

, American computer scientist *

Ronald Bandell Ronald Johan Gottlieb Bandell (24 August 1946 – 16 November 2015) was a Dutch civil servant and politician of the Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and later the Labour Party (PvdA). Bandell was born in Gouda. He was mayor of Moordrecht (19 ...

(1946–2015), Dutch mayor *

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', ...

(1929–2005), British comedian, known as one half of The Two Ronnies * Ronnie Belliard, retired American baseball player *

Ronnie Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 y ...

, British train robber *

Ron Blomberg Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He played ...

(born 1948), American major league baseball player * Ronald Breslow (1931–2017), American chemist * Ronald Burkle, American businessman * Ronnie Burns (actor), part-time actor best noted as the adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen * Ronnie Burns (singer), Australian singer * Ronnie Burns (footballer), former Australian rules footballer with the Geelong and Adelaide Football Clubs * Ron Butlin (ice hockey) (1925–2014), Canadian ice hockey executive * Ronald Castree, British child murderer * Ronald Cerritos, Salvadoran footballer *

Ronald Cheng Ronald Cheng Chung-kei (born 9 March 1972) is a Hong Kong actor, singer and songwriter. Life and career Ronald Cheng was born in Hong Kong. Originally intending to work behind the scenes as a songwriter and a producer, Cheng did odd jobs at his ...

, Hong Kong pop star and movie actor *

Ron Chernow Ronald Chernow (; born March 3, 1949) is an American writer, journalist, and biographer. He has written bestselling historical non-fiction biographies. Chernow won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the 2011 American ...

, American writer, journalist, historian and biographer * Ronalds Cinks, Latvian ice hockey player * Ronald D. Coleman, American politician *

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

, English actor *

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

, British comedian, known for his role as the other half of The Two Ronnies * Ronald de Boer, Dutch football (soccer) player * Ronald DeFeo Jr, American mass murder and family annihilator * Ronald dela Rosa (born 1962), Filipino politician and retired police general * Ronald de Mel (1925–2024), Sri Lanka Minister of Finance from 1977 to 1988 * Ron Dennis, British businessman *

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

, American politician * Ronnie James Dio, American singer for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven and Hell * Ronald Fielding Dodd (c.1890–1958), Scottish architect * Ronald Dominique (born 1964), prolific American serial killer and rapist * Ronald dos Santos Lopes (born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ronnie Drew, Irish singer and a founding member of The Dubliners * Ronald Dupree, American baseball player * Ron Eldard, American actor * Ronald Evans (1933–1990), American astronaut * Ronald Ferguson (polo), father of Sarah, Duchess of York * Ronald Ferguson (economist), American researcher of the racial education achievement gap *

Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who a ...

(1890–1962), British statistician and geneticist * Ronald Florijn, Dutch rower * Ronald J. Garan, Jr., American astronaut * Ronald Girones, Cuban judoka * Ronald Gora, American swimmer * Ronald Green (1944-2012), American-Israeli basketball player * Ron McClure, Jazz bassist * Ronald McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun, British Conservative politician * Ron Greenwood (1921–2006), English football player and manager *

Ron Guidry Ronald Ames Guidry (; born August 28, 1950), nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Guidry was also the pitch ...

, American baseball pitcher, New York Yankees * Ron Hackenberger (born 1935), American businessman and car collector * Ronald Max Hartwell, Australian historian * Ronald Harvey (cricketer), English cricketer * Ronald A. Heifetz, cofounder of the Center for Public Leadership at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University * Ronald Herd, American professional wrestler * Ronald K. Hoeflin, American philosopher * Ronald Holassie, Trinidad and Tobago long-distance runner * Ron Horsley, American author and illustrator * Ronald "Ron" Howard, American filmmaker and actor * L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), American author and the founder of the Church of Scientology * Ronald Jeremy Hyatt (born 1953), American pornographic actor, filmmaker, actor, and stand-up comedian *

Ronald Isley Ronald Isley ( ; born May 21, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sallye Bernice (née Bell) and O ...

, R&B singer *

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...

(born 1955), senior United States senator for Wisconsin * Ronald Jones (running back) (born 1997), American football player *

Ron Jones (athlete) Ronald Jones (19 August 1934 – 30 December 2021) was a British track and field Athletics (sport), athlete who competed at two Olympic Games. Biography Jones was born on 19 August 1934 in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Jones was running for t ...

, British track and field athlete * Ronald Joseph (disambiguation), several people * Ronald Kapaz, Brazilian graphic designer * Ron Keel (born 1961), heavy metal vocalist and guitarist for a number of bands from the 1980s to the modern day * Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player * Ronald Kent Jr. (born 1999), American football player * Ron Kind, American congressman *

Ronald Klink Ronald Paul Klink (born September 23, 1951) is an American television broadcaster and politician and who served four terms as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 1993 to 2001, as member of the Democratic Party. Early life and ...

, Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania *

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

, Dutch football (soccer) player and coach * Ronald Kray, English gangster * Ron LeFlore (athlete), Detroit Tigers * Ronald Lacey (1935–1991) British actor * Ronald Lanzoni, Costa Rican long-distance runner * Dr. Ronald Leung, Hong Kong politician and businessman in banking *

Ron Mael Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwrit ...

, American musician and songwriter * Ronald Mallett, American physicist * Ronald Mason Jr., African-American university president * Rónald Matarrita, Costa Rican footballer *

Ronald Méndez Ronald Jose Méndez Garcia (born October 26, 1982) is a volleyball player from Venezuela, who won the gold medal with the Venezuela men's national volleyball team, men's national team at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep ...

, Venezuelan volleyball player * Ronald Michaud, American cartoonist * Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and television producer * David Ronald Musgrove, Democratic politician and former governor of Mississippi, better known as "Ronnie Musgrove" *

Ronald Clark O'Bryan Ronald Clark O'Bryan (October 19, 1944 – March 31, 1984), nicknamed The Candy Man, The Man Who Killed Halloween and The Pixy Stix Killer, was an American man convicted of killing his eight-year-old son Timothy (April 5, 1966 – October 31, 19 ...

(1944-1984), American murderer *

Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in snooker history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a m ...

, British snooker player * Ronald Patrick (born 1991), American football player *

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

, Texan congressman * Ronald Pelton, American intelligence analyst and convicted spy * Ronald Pereira Martins (born 2001), Brazilian footballer *

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

, American actor *

Ron Petersen Ronald H. Petersen, more commonly known as Ron Petersen, born in 1934, is a mycologist and professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloq ...

(born 1934), American mycologist using the standard author abbreviation "R.H.Petersen" * Ronald Pofalla (born 1959), German politician and manager * Ronald Powell (born 1991), American football player * Ronald van Raak (born 1969), Dutch politician *

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

(1911–2004), former actor, Governor of California and 40th President of the United States * Ronald Reid-Daly (1928–2010), Rhodesian military commander * Ronald Ringsrud, US author and emerald expert *

Ron Rivest Ronald Linn Rivest (; born May 6, 1947) is an American cryptographer and computer scientist whose work has spanned the fields of algorithms and combinatorics, cryptography, machine learning, and election integrity. He is an Institute Profess ...

, American cryptographer * Ronald Santanna Rodrigues (born 1997), Brazilian footballer * Ronald Russell (disambiguation), Multiple people * Ronald Sambi (born 2001), Indonesian footballer * Ron Saunders (1932–2019), English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager * Ronald Scobie (1893–1969), British Army officer * Ronald "Bon" Scott, lead singer of AC/DC from 1974 to 1980 * Ronald Schill, German judge and politician * Ronald L. Schlicher, American diplomat * Ronald Alan Schulz (1965–2005), American civilian contract worker killed in Iraq * Ronnie Schneider, American Rock and roll manager *

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's School and f ...

(1920–2011), British cartoonist * Ronald "Ron" Sexmith (born 1964), Canadian singer-songwriter * Ronald Gene Simmons (1940-1990), American spree killer and family annihilator * Ronald Steele, American basketball player * Ronald Stretton, British track cyclist * John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973), British writer * Ronald "Ronnie" Turner (1960-2022), American actor, singer, and youngest son of Tina Turner *

Ron Underwood Ronald Brian Underwood (born November 6, 1953) is an American film and television director, known for directing such films as '' Tremors'' (1990), '' City Slickers'' (1991), '' Heart and Souls'' (1993),'' and Mighty Joe Young'' (1998). Early ...

, American film director * Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., American musician and member of

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

Ronnie Van Zant Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known as the founding lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of Johnny Van Zant, the cu ...

(1948–1977), American musician *

Ronald Venetiaan Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan (born 18 June 1936) is a former politician who served as the sixth president of Suriname. Biography Venetiaan was born in Paramaribo. In 1955, Venetiaan left Suriname to study mathematics and physics at the University of ...

, former president of Suriname * Ronald Virag (born 1938), French cardiovascular surgeon *

Ron Washington Ronald Washington (born April 29, 1952) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager, Coach (baseball), coach, and former infielder. Since November 2023, Washington has been the manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Major Leagu ...

(born 1952), American baseball player and manager * Ronald "Ronnie" Washington (born 1963), American football player *

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

, British rock musician (

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

), and artist * Ronald Wright (boxer) American professional boxer * Ronalds Žagars, Latvian former football goalkeeper * Ronald Zilberberg (born 1996), Israeli Olympic figure skater * Ronald Zoodsma (born 1966), Dutch volleyball player

Fictional people with the name

* Ronald Miller, a character in the American teen romantic comedy 1987 film '' Can't Buy Me Love'' * Ronald McCrea, nicknamed "Ronnie", a character from '' Need for Speed: Most Wanted'' *

Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, an ...

, mascot of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

* Ronald the Cat, Nature Cat's next-door neighbor and arch-enemy * Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible's sidekick from the Disney animated series ''

Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated Action comedy TV series, action comedy television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The Kim Possible (character), title character is a teenage girl tasked with saving ...

'' *

Ron Swanson Ronald Ulysses Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by Nick Offerman in the political satire sitcom '' Parks and Recreation''. The character was created by Michael Schur and Greg Daniels with inspiration from a real-life Libertarian ele ...

, the mustachioed libertarian director of the eponymous department in the sitcom '' Parks and Recreation''. *

Ron Weasley Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. ...

, a main character in ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'', best friend of the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

* Ronald "Ronnie" Raymond, half of the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

superhero

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

. * Ronald "Red" Daniels, main protagonist of '' Call of Duty: WWII''. *

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an ...

, a reaper in the manga'' Black Butler'' by Yana Toboso

Citations

References

* * * * {{given name Dutch masculine given names English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Masculine given names German masculine given names Scottish masculine given names Swedish masculine given names

People with the name

Fictional people with the name

See also

Citations

References