Popularity of the name Ronald, 1883–2025
Ronald was at its most popular in 1943, when 29,239 boys were given the name: about 1 in 49 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #9. In 2025, 438 boys were named Ronald, ranking #637. In all, Social Security counts 1,082,247 boys named Ronald since 1883. Social Security’s records also list 3,844 girls named Ronald.
- Peak year
- 1943
- Rank in 1943
- #9
- Babies in 1943
- 29,239
- Rank in 2025
- #637
- Total since 1883
- 1,082,247
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #434 in 2015 to #637 in 2025, with 704 boys named Ronald in 2015 and 438 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Ronald ranked highest in the 1940s, at #10, with 282,489 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #772 in the 1880s and #588 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 40 in 1900 (#343), 832 in 1920 (#168), 20,741 in 1940 (#10), 21,714 in 1960 (#21), 5,757 in 1980 (#58), 1,750 in 2000 (#203) and 503 in 2020 (#558).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 34,899, in 1947. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1947 than for 1943, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #9, first reached in 1941.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1883 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Ronald, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1883 | 6 | #799 |
| 1884 | 11 | #570 |
| 1886 | 13 | #512 |
| 1887 | 8 | #679 |
| 1888 | 15 | #505 |
| 1889 | 10 | #628 |
| 1890 | 20 | #405 |
| 1891 | 8 | #700 |
| 1892 | 17 | #480 |
| 1893 | 8 | #768 |
| 1894 | 21 | #412 |
| 1895 | 25 | #383 |
| 1896 | 23 | #407 |
| 1897 | 34 | #316 |
| 1898 | 26 | #385 |
| 1899 | 27 | #346 |
| 1900 | 40 | #343 |
| 1901 | 42 | #265 |
| 1902 | 49 | #267 |
| 1903 | 52 | #253 |
| 1904 | 50 | #270 |
| 1905 | 51 | #277 |
| 1906 | 76 | #225 |
| 1907 | 88 | #215 |
| 1908 | 75 | #245 |
| 1909 | 93 | #225 |
| 1910 | 118 | #214 |
| 1911 | 136 | #218 |
| 1912 | 302 | #191 |
| 1913 | 417 | #166 |
| 1914 | 541 | #163 |
| 1915 | 763 | #155 |
| 1916 | 723 | #165 |
| 1917 | 766 | #165 |
| 1918 | 751 | #176 |
| 1919 | 784 | #171 |
| 1920 | 832 | #168 |
| 1921 | 992 | #154 |
| 1922 | 1,042 | #147 |
| 1923 | 1,148 | #142 |
| 1924 | 1,360 | #130 |
| 1925 | 1,674 | #104 |
| 1926 | 2,283 | #88 |
| 1927 | 3,115 | #63 |
| 1928 | 3,969 | #50 |
| 1929 | 4,479 | #45 |
| 1930 | 5,635 | #37 |
| 1931 | 6,726 | #27 |
| 1932 | 11,143 | #16 |
| 1933 | 12,061 | #12 |
| 1934 | 14,088 | #11 |
| 1935 | 15,489 | #12 |
| 1936 | 16,917 | #12 |
| 1937 | 18,141 | #11 |
| 1938 | 20,295 | #10 |
| 1939 | 19,837 | #10 |
| 1940 | 20,741 | #10 |
| 1941 | 24,407 | #9 |
| 1942 | 27,138 | #9 |
| 1943 | 29,239 | #9 |
| 1944 | 25,513 | #10 |
| 1945 | 23,665 | #10 |
| 1946 | 31,858 | #10 |
| 1947 | 34,899 | #11 |
| 1948 | 33,527 | #10 |
| 1949 | 31,502 | #11 |
| 1950 | 29,908 | #12 |
| 1951 | 29,049 | #12 |
| 1952 | 27,800 | #15 |
| 1953 | 27,713 | #15 |
| 1954 | 27,625 | #15 |
| 1955 | 26,172 | #18 |
| 1956 | 27,725 | #15 |
| 1957 | 27,209 | #17 |
| 1958 | 24,824 | #19 |
| 1959 | 23,114 | #21 |
| 1960 | 21,714 | #21 |
| 1961 | 20,842 | #24 |
| 1962 | 19,963 | #25 |
| 1963 | 19,780 | #23 |
| 1964 | 18,844 | #24 |
| 1965 | 17,619 | #24 |
| 1966 | 16,952 | #24 |
| 1967 | 16,443 | #24 |
| 1968 | 15,415 | #25 |
| 1969 | 14,618 | #29 |
| 1970 | 13,618 | #29 |
| 1971 | 11,617 | #31 |
| 1972 | 9,502 | #32 |
| 1973 | 8,327 | #40 |
| 1974 | 7,667 | #42 |
| 1975 | 7,064 | #46 |
| 1976 | 6,457 | #49 |
| 1977 | 6,026 | #53 |
| 1978 | 5,758 | #55 |
| 1979 | 5,694 | #54 |
| 1980 | 5,757 | #58 |
| 1981 | 5,538 | #59 |
| 1982 | 5,207 | #60 |
| 1983 | 4,702 | #64 |
| 1984 | 4,507 | #67 |
| 1985 | 4,299 | #71 |
| 1986 | 4,224 | #75 |
| 1987 | 4,153 | #73 |
| 1988 | 4,173 | #79 |
| 1989 | 4,110 | #85 |
| 1990 | 3,899 | #97 |
| 1991 | 3,670 | #101 |
| 1992 | 3,222 | #112 |
| 1993 | 2,882 | #122 |
| 1994 | 2,564 | #137 |
| 1995 | 2,400 | #146 |
| 1996 | 2,229 | #156 |
| 1997 | 2,096 | #164 |
| 1998 | 1,847 | #182 |
| 1999 | 1,872 | #186 |
| 2000 | 1,750 | #203 |
| 2001 | 1,652 | #212 |
| 2002 | 1,521 | #227 |
| 2003 | 1,406 | #237 |
| 2004 | 1,450 | #232 |
| 2005 | 1,302 | #255 |
| 2006 | 1,374 | #249 |
| 2007 | 1,175 | #292 |
| 2008 | 1,089 | #307 |
| 2009 | 926 | #341 |
| 2010 | 913 | #343 |
| 2011 | 889 | #342 |
| 2012 | 797 | #378 |
| 2013 | 745 | #402 |
| 2014 | 791 | #394 |
| 2015 | 704 | #434 |
| 2016 | 728 | #429 |
| 2017 | 660 | #459 |
| 2018 | 588 | #490 |
| 2019 | 541 | #526 |
| 2020 | 503 | #558 |
| 2021 | 505 | #562 |
| 2022 | 532 | #559 |
| 2023 | 457 | #611 |
| 2024 | 497 | #575 |
| 2025 | 438 | #637 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.