Head to head · Boys' names
Memphis vs Ronald
#639 vs #637 in 2025
Ronald is a whisker ahead (#637 vs #639 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Ronald is holding its place on the charts, Memphis is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Ronald leads 5 measures of 6; Memphis leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Memphis —, Ronald #616 — Ronald higher
- 1890s: Memphis —, Ronald #460 — Ronald higher
- 1900s: Memphis —, Ronald #259 — Ronald higher
- 1910s: Memphis #3011, Ronald #178 — Ronald higher
- 1920s: Memphis #3607, Ronald #109 — Ronald higher
- 1930s: Memphis #3453, Ronald #16 — Ronald higher
- 1940s: Memphis #3255, Ronald #10 — Ronald higher
- 1950s: Memphis —, Ronald #16 — Ronald higher
- 1960s: Memphis —, Ronald #24 — Ronald higher
- 1970s: Memphis —, Ronald #43 — Ronald higher
- 1980s: Memphis —, Ronald #69 — Ronald higher
- 1990s: Memphis #9265, Ronald #140 — Ronald higher
- 2000s: Memphis #1409, Ronald #256 — Ronald higher
- 2010s: Memphis #612, Ronald #420 — Ronald higher
- 2020s: Memphis #502, Ronald #584 — Memphis higher
Ronald stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Memphis took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Memphis | Ronald |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #616 |
| 1890s | — | #460 |
| 1900s | — | #259 |
| 1910s | #3011 | #178 |
| 1920s | #3607 | #109 |
| 1930s | #3453 | #16 |
| 1940s | #3255 | #10 |
| 1950s | — | #16 |
| 1960s | — | #24 |
| 1970s | — | #43 |
| 1980s | — | #69 |
| 1990s | #9265 | #140 |
| 2000s | #1409 | #256 |
| 2010s | #612 | #420 |
| 2020s | #502 | #584 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Memphis
Enduring and beautiful
Memphis is the Greek rendering of Egyptian Men-nefer, "enduring and beautiful" — originally the name of the pyramid town of the pharaoh Pepi I, which came to stand for the whole city. The older Egyptian name for the city itself was Inebu-hedj, "white walls."
Men-nefer → Memphis (Greek) → Memphis, Tennessee → Memphis (given name)
How it traveled
The first Memphis stood at the head of the Nile delta and served as a capital of ancient Egypt; Greek writers turned its Egyptian name Men-nefer into Memphis, and that is the form the West inherited. In 1819 the founders of a new settlement on a bluff above the Mississippi took the name deliberately, matching one great river city to another.
Ronald
counsel-ruler, one who rules by the gods' advice
The Old Norse Rognvaldr joins regin, the counsel of the gods, to valdr, a ruler. The Germanic Raginwald behind Reginald is the same compound in a different mouth.
Rognvaldr → Raghnall → Ranald → Ronald
How it traveled
Clan Donald has the name at its root twice over. Ranald and Ronald are both English spellings of the Gaelic Raghnall, itself the Norse name taken into Gaelic, and the branches of the clan called MacDonald and MacDonell trace to a Ranald whose descendants split.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Memphis
MEM-fis
Stress on the first syllable. One pronunciation only, and almost no American will need to be told it.
- Mem — The most natural clipping, used informally at home; not established as a standalone given name.
- Memphy — An affectionate family form, mostly used with small children.
- Phis — Occasionally used among friends; rare, and needs explaining the first time.
Ronald
RON-uld
Two syllables with the weight at the front, the second reduced to a hum. Said the same way across the English-speaking world.
- Ron — The standard short form, used in speech far more often than the full name.
- Ronnie — The affectionate form; it stands alone as a given name and is used for women too.
- Ronny — The same form with the plainer spelling, common on American paperwork.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Memphis if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMemphis is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowMemphis is stepping back from its peak
Choose Ronald if you want…
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Memphis
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Memphis
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to nearly everyone in the country, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- One settled pronunciation, learned on sight, with no regional variation to negotiate.
- Given to both boys and girls in the US records — the same place name traveling two ways, not two different names.
To consider
- The association with Tennessee is immediate and total. Expect the question "Is your family from there?" for life, and expect the music — Elvis, Stax, blues — to come up too. Some families love that; it is worth knowing it comes with the name.
- Short forms are not fixed. Mem and Memphy exist but none has settled into common use, so a child who wants a shorter everyday name may have to invent one.
- Most Memphises on record are boys. A girl with the name will sometimes be read as male on paper — forms, rosters, first emails — which is easily corrected but happens more than once.
Ronald
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, anywhere English is spoken.
- Ron and Ronnie are established short forms with quite different registers.
- It has a documented history running from Norse Scotland to the present, with real bearers throughout.
To consider
- It is closely tied to one American generation and will place a person in time.
- A fast-food mascot and a president both carry the name, and both associations arrive unbidden.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Memphis
40%chance Memphis feels dated by 2040
Memphis sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Ronald
12%chance Ronald feels dated by 2040
Ronald has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Memphis and Ronald in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Memphis and Ronald?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Memphis and Ronald — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Memphis or Ronald — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Memphis or Ronald?
- Ronald, in 2025: Ronald ranked #637 with 438 babies; Memphis ranked #639 with 437 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Memphis or Ronald?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Memphis moved down 184 places; Ronald moved down 79 places.
- Which is the older name, Memphis or Ronald?
- Memphis entered the US charts in 1916; Ronald entered the US charts in 1883. On the American record, Ronald is the older name.
- How many people are named Memphis and Ronald?
- About 10,000 people named Memphis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 682,000 people named Ronald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Memphiss or Ronalds in the classroom?
- Memphis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ronald will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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