Head to head · Boys' names
Raul vs Ronald
#634 vs #637 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Raul is a whisker ahead (#634 vs #637 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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 3 measures of 6; Raul leads 2.
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: Raul —, Ronald #616 — Ronald higher
- 1890s: Raul —, Ronald #460 — Ronald higher
- 1900s: Raul #925, Ronald #259 — Ronald higher
- 1910s: Raul #673, Ronald #178 — Ronald higher
- 1920s: Raul #360, Ronald #109 — Ronald higher
- 1930s: Raul #306, Ronald #16 — Ronald higher
- 1940s: Raul #298, Ronald #10 — Ronald higher
- 1950s: Raul #256, Ronald #16 — Ronald higher
- 1960s: Raul #256, Ronald #24 — Ronald higher
- 1970s: Raul #213, Ronald #43 — Ronald higher
- 1980s: Raul #206, Ronald #69 — Ronald higher
- 1990s: Raul #212, Ronald #140 — Ronald higher
- 2000s: Raul #254, Ronald #256 — Raul higher
- 2010s: Raul #439, Ronald #420 — Ronald higher
- 2020s: Raul #593, Ronald #584 — Ronald higher
Ronald stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Ronald has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raul | Ronald |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #616 |
| 1890s | — | #460 |
| 1900s | #925 | #259 |
| 1910s | #673 | #178 |
| 1920s | #360 | #109 |
| 1930s | #306 | #16 |
| 1940s | #298 | #10 |
| 1950s | #256 | #16 |
| 1960s | #256 | #24 |
| 1970s | #213 | #43 |
| 1980s | #206 | #69 |
| 1990s | #212 | #140 |
| 2000s | #254 | #256 |
| 2010s | #439 | #420 |
| 2020s | #593 | #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
Raul
counsel-wolf, from Germanic rād 'advice, counsel' and wulf 'wolf'
The same two elements sit inside the English Ralph and the French Raoul; the Germanic naming habit of pairing an abstract quality with an animal is very old and very well documented.
Rādwulf → Radulf → Raoul → Raúl → Raul
How it traveled
The oldest form is the Germanic Rādwulf, latinized as Radulf, which spread through Frankish territory in the early medieval period. Old French wore it down to Raoul, and Norman speakers took that form to England, where it settled as Ralph.
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
Raul
rah-OOL
Two syllables, stress on the second. In Spanish the accent mark (Raúl) is what keeps the vowels apart; without it, English speakers sometimes flatten it to one syllable, closer to 'Rowl'.
- Raulito — Standard Spanish diminutive, used affectionately within families and often for a boy named after his father.
- Rauli — Informal short form; also exists independently as a Finnish given name.
- Rau — Clipped informal form heard among friends and teammates rather than in writing.
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 Raul if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesRaul is 1 syllable to Ronald's 2
- a name that feels very nowRaul is holding its place on the charts
Choose Ronald if you want…
- a name with more sound in itRonald runs 2 syllables, Raul 1
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Raul
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
Raul
Strengths
- Works unchanged in English, Spanish and Portuguese — only the accent mark shifts, and the sound stays recognizable in all three.
- Four letters, no silent letters, no competing spellings to choose between.
- A documented line running from early medieval Frankish names through Old French to the modern form.
To consider
- The accent in Raúl will be dropped by school systems, forms and databases; deciding early whether you write it with or without saves years of small corrections.
- English-only speakers often need one gentle correction, either compressing it to a single syllable or reaching for the French Raoul.
- Its American strength is concentrated in the southwest and California, so outside those regions it may be met as unfamiliar rather than merely uncommon — which is not the same as difficult.
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
Raul
40%chance Raul feels dated by 2040
Raul 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 Raul 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 Raul and Ronald?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
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 Raul and Ronald — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raul or Ronald — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raul or Ronald?
- Raul, in 2025: Raul ranked #634 with 440 babies; Ronald ranked #637 with 438 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raul or Ronald?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Raul moved down 77 places; Ronald moved down 79 places.
- Which is the older name, Raul or Ronald?
- Raul entered the US charts in 1904; Ronald entered the US charts in 1883. On the American record, Ronald is the older name.
- How many people are named Raul and Ronald?
- About 73,500 people named Raul 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 Rauls or Ronalds in the classroom?
- Raul 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Raul, Ronald and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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