Renald
Masculine · “counsel and rule”
Renald sits one letter from Ronald and one syllable short of Reginald, and the record does not say which a family meant. It also shows what French did to this whole family of names: French turned the -ald of Germanic names into -aud, so Arnold became Arnaud, Theobald became Thibaud, and Reginald became Renaud.
How old is the name Renald?
Renald first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Renald alive today was born around 1945, making them about 80 years old. About 300 people named Renald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Renald most popular?
Renald peaked in 1924, reaching #1964 nationally. See the whole 1924 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Germanic Raginald to Renald
The story of Renald
Ronald came to Scotland with Norse settlers, and Reginald reached England in medieval Latin. In French the l before a consonant softened into a vowel, the same change that made Latin alter into French autre, and so the French form of the name ends in -aud. Renald keeps the l that French let go, and it appears in American records as a rare given name with no history of its own apart from its roots.
Meaning
counsel and rule, through Ronald or Reginald
Whichever it began from, the meaning is the same: Ronald and Reginald both descend from the Germanic elements for 'counsel' and 'rule'. Renald adds no meaning of its own.
How the name formed
- Germanic Raginald
- Reginald and Ronald
- Renald
Related forms: Renaud · Reynold
Pronouncing Renald
REN-uld
Usually REN-uld; some families say ruh-NALD, and the spelling does not decide it.
Nicknames for Renald
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 192417 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1964reached in 1924
- Change vs 2001
- −25.0%6 in 2007, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Renald in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Renaud in French — related form
- Reynold in English — related form
Renalds among us
people named Renald are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Renald sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Whichever root it came from, the meaning is documented: 'counsel' and 'rule'.
- Shorter than Reginald and distinct from the common Ronald.
- Easy to say once heard.
- People will hear Ronald and write it that way; expect corrections.
- Its pronunciation is not fixed, so settle it early and say it clearly.
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Renald
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Renalds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Renald are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Renald in 2025?
- Renald is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Renald with classmates?
- Renald will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Renald? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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