Explore the Family Name Ronald

The meaning of Ronald

Scottish: from an Anglicized form of the Gaelic personal name Raonull, a borrowing from the Old Norse personal name Rǫgnvaldr (see Reynold). Some characteristic forenames: Scottish Gillespie.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Ronald in the United States?

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Ronald has seen a decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Ronald was the 21,754th most popular surname in the United States with 1,115 individuals bearing the name. By 2010, it had dropped to the 25,356th position with only 976 individuals sharing the name, representing a decrease of approximately 16.56% in its rank and 12.47% in count. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased by 19.51%, moving from 0.41 in 2000 to 0.33 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#21,754	#25,356	-16.56%
Count	1,115	976	-12.47%
Proportion per 100k	0.41	0.33	-19.51%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ronald

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the surname Ronald identified as White, with 84.57% in 2000 and 83.40% in 2010. However, there were notable changes among other ethnicities. The number of Asian/Pacific Islanders with the surname Ronald saw an increase of 51.00% during this period, while the Black population increased by 9.87%. Conversely, those identifying as two or more races saw a significant decrease of 45.88%. The Hispanic population remained relatively stable with a small increase of 2.05%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native population experienced a decrease of 15.28%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	84.57%	83.4%	-1.38%
Black	7.09%	7.79%	9.87%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.51%	3.79%	51%
Hispanic	3.41%	3.48%	2.05%
Two or More Races	1.7%	0.92%	-45.88%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.72%	0.61%	-15.28%