Ronan

What Ronan means

Irish, meaning “little seal”

From rón (“seal”) +‎ -án (diminutive), literally “little seal”.

Source: Wiktionary, “Rónán” (revision 93580987), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Ronan?

US: Rising: up from #335 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #379 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 1,406 boys got the name (#247 that year). First in the US records in 1959.

How common

• About 1 in 1,215 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,172 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 262 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (4.95 per 1,000 boys), AK (3.52 per 1,000 boys), HI (3.08 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Ronan is #247 in the US and #215 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.5% of US babies named Ronan were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ronin600 US · 19 E&W
• Ronen153 US
• Renan15 US
• Rennan11 US
• Roanin7 US
• Ronyn7 US
• Ronon5 US
• Roanan5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Ronan

Boys

• Finn#206“the Sami”^*
• Kian#400Editor’s note Up from #489 in 2015 to #400 in 2025 in the US
• Declan#139Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #139 vs #372 in 2025
• Lochlan#644Editor’s note Up from #841 in 2015 to #644 in 2025 in the US
• Owen#31Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #31 vs #170 in 2025
• Rowan#59“little red one”^*

For a sister

• Kenna#759“descendant of Cionaodh”^*
• Teagan#340Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1979, with 6 babies
• Rory#230“red-haired king”^*
• Alaina#224Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*
• Alayna#332Editor’s note Down from #223 in 2015 to #332 in 2025 in the US
• Gwen#725Same root as Wendy, meaning “watercourse with a bend + island”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Ronan’s. Rank is US 2025.