Reginald, Ronald

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: “advice ruler.”

The name is derived from the Old Norse Ragnvaldr which is composed of the elements ragn (advice, council) and valdr (ruler). The name was introduced into Scotland and England via Viking settlers.

In recent history it was borne by former American President and actor Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).

Currently, Ronald is the 342nd most popular male name in the United States, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

• Reinout (Dutch)
• Reginald (English)
• Ronald (English/Scottish)
• Reino (Finnish)
• Renaud/Reynaud (French)
• Réginald (French)
• Raghnall (Gaelic)
• Reinald (German: archaic)
• Reinhald (German)
• Rajnald (Hungarian)
• Rinaldo (Italian)
• Reinaldo (Portuguese/Spanish)
• Reynaldo (Portuguese/Spanish)
• Ronaldo (Portuguese)
• Ragnvald (Scandinavian: archaic)
• Ranald (Scottish)
• Rheinallt (Welsh)

Common English nicknames are Reg, Reggie, Ron and Ronnie.

Feminine forms include:

• Rinalda (Italian)
• Rinaldina (Italian)
• Ronalda (Portuguese/Scottish)