Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr,^[2] or possibly from Old English Regenweald.^[3] In some cases Ronald is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Raghnall, a name likewise derived from Rögnvaldr.^[4] The latter name is composed of the Old Norse elements regin ("advice", "decision") and valdr ("ruler").^[5] 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.^[2] A short form of Ronald is Ron.^[2] Pet forms of Ronald include Roni^[6] and Ronnie.^[2] Ronalda and Rhonda are feminine forms of Ronald.^[7] Rhona, a modern name apparently only dating back to the late nineteenth century, may have originated as a feminine form of Ronald.^[8] 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 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 (Australian), 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 (born 1925), 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, 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
• Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (1933-1995), English killer and robber
• 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, American figure skater
• 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
• Ron Kind, American congressman
• Ronald Klink, Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania
• Ronald Koeman, Dutch football (soccer) player and coach
• 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
• Ronald Washington (born 1952), American baseball player and manager
• 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 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