# Ronald

Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, or possibly from Old English Regenweald. In some cases Ronald is an Anglicised 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 and Scotland, where Scandinavian influences were once substantial, although now the name is common throughout the English-speaking world. A short form of Ronald is Ron. Pet forms of Ronald include Roni and Ronnie. Ronalda and Rhonda are feminine forms of Ronald. Rhona, a modern name apparently only dating back to the late nineteenth century, may have originated as a feminine form of Ronald. 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, Venezuelan baseball player
* Ronald Alcock (died 1991), British stamp dealer and philatelic speaker
* Ronalds Arājs, Latvian athlete
* Ronald Arculli, 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, English football manager
* Ronald Azuma, American computer scientist
* Ronald Bandell (1946–2015), Dutch mayor
* Ronnie Barker (1929–2005), British comedian, known as one half of The Two Ronnies
* Ronnie Belliard, retired American baseball player
* Ronnie Biggs, British train robber
* Ron Blomberg (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, Hong Kong pop star and movie actor
* Ron Chernow, American writer, journalist, historian and biographer
* Ronalds Cinks, Latvian ice hockey player
* Ronald D. Coleman, American politician
* Ronald Colman, English actor
* Ronnie Corbett, 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, 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 (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, 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, R&B singer
* Ron Johnson (born 1955), senior United States senator for Wisconsin
* Ronald Jones (running back) (born 1997), American football player
* Ron Jones (athlete), 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, Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania
* Ronald Koeman, 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, American musician and songwriter
* Ronald Mallett, American physicist
* Ronald Mason Jr., African-American university president
* Rónald Matarrita, Costa Rican footballer
* Ronald Méndez, 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 (1944-1984), American murderer
* Ronnie O'Sullivan, British snooker player
* Ronald Patrick (born 1991), American football player
* Ron Paul, Texan congressman
* Ronald Pelton, American intelligence analyst and convicted spy
* Ronald Pereira Martins (born 2001), Brazilian footballer
* Ron Perlman, American actor
* Ron Petersen (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 (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, American cryptographer
* Ronald Santanna Rodrigues (born 1997), Brazilian footballer
* Ronald Russell (disambiguation), Multiple people
* Ron Saunders (1932–2019), English football 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 (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, American film director
* Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., American musician and member of The Killers
* Ronnie Van Zant (1948–1977), American musician
* Ronald Venetiaan, former president of Suriname
* Ronald Virag (born 1938), French cardiovascular surgeon
* Ron Washington (born 1952), American baseball player and manager
* Ronald "Ronnie" Washington (born 1963), American football player
* Ronnie Wood, British rock musician (The Rolling Stones), 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, mascot of McDonald's
* 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
* Ron Swanson, the mustachioed libertarian director of the eponymous department in the sitcom Parks and Recreation.
* Ron Weasley, a main character in Harry Potter, best friend of the title character
* Ronald "Ronnie" Raymond, half of the DC Comics superhero Firestorm.
* Ronald "Red" Daniels, main protagonist of Call of Duty: WWII.
* Ronald Knox, a reaper in the manga Black Butler by Yana Toboso