Ronin
Torn between Ronin and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
the Japanese term for a masterless samurai, literally "wave man"; as a given name it also overlaps with the Irish Ronan
The story
In Japanese, rōnin means a samurai without a master. Its written characters mean "wave person," an image of someone drifting without a fixed attachment. That position could be precarious. A samurai depended on a lord for employment and income. During the peace of Japan’s early Edo period, many masterless samurai struggled to find another position, and some turned to other work.
Lord Asano attacked Kira, a powerful official in Edo, after a disagreement. Asano was sentenced to die by suicide. His death left the samurai who had served him without a master. The group remembered as the forty-seven rōnin killed Kira in revenge in 1703, and the authorities condemned most of them to death. Their story was repeatedly adapted for Japanese theater and woodblock prints, with fictional details added to the historical events.
As a modern given name, Ronin has another possible route. Behind the Name records it as an English variant of Ronan, from Irish Rónán, meaning "little seal." The Irish name and the Japanese word have separate linguistic origins. Published US Social Security records covering births from 1890 through 2025 contain 10,494 registrations of the exact spelling Ronin. That count establishes recorded use, but cannot tell us which association a family had in mind.
How popular is Ronin around the world?
In the United States, 4,222 babies were named Ronin between 2020 and 2025.
Ronin is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Scotland, South Australia, England and Wales, Mexico City and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,200
In the United States, 4,222 babies were named Ronin between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ronin peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 8,700
In Canada, 42 boys named Ronin were born in 2024, the 655th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 9,200
In Scotland, 5 boys named Ronin were registered in 2024, the 535th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Ronin in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 31,000
In England and Wales, 19 boys named Ronin were born in 2025, ranked 1,406th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Ronin in 2022.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
last on record 2022
Ronin is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 68 people in Brazil were named Ronin, ranked 53,986th, with a median age of 33.
Among people named Ronin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2011
Ronin is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2021
Ronin is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Ronin
Most people given the name Ronin in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Ronin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ronin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ronin fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Ronin fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Ronin to your family’s tree →