Contents [hide]

Ronald History Etymology Coat of Arms Creation Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Sources

Ronald History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Ronald

What does the name Ronald mean?

The Ronald family comes from the ancient Scottish Dalriadan clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland. The name Ronald is derived from the Anglicized version of the Gaelic personal name Mac Dhomhnuill. Ronald is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. The surname Ronald arose from the vernacular naming tradition, whereby surnames were formed by adopting the given name of one's father, or another ancestor. This name was first found in Kintyre, where members of this family had resided for many years.

Most historians note the name claims descent through the High Kings of Ireland, namely Colla Uais and Conn of the Hundred Battles. Movement between Scotland and Ireland was very frequent over the centuries. 1

Ronald Coat of Arms Creation

The story of the cross is that an ancestor of the MacDonalds helped St Patrick to establish Christianity in Ireland, and in this way had the cross associated with his name.

The MacDonald motto is in Gaelic " Air muir 's air tir " ; in Latin, " Per mare per terras."

Sir Walter Scott in The Lord of the Isles writes :-

" Lord of the Isles, my trust's in thee

As firm as Ailsa rock ;

Rush on with Highland sword and targe,

I with my Carrick spearmen charge,

Go forward to the shock." 2

Early Origins of the Ronald family

The surname Ronald was first found in Kintyre, and much of the Eastern islands and coast-lands where members of this Clan, descended through Somerled, Lord of the Isles and had resided for many years.

Early History of the Ronald family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ronald research. Another 300 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1329, 1335, 1336, 1341, 1342, 1386, 1415, 1420, 1424, 1449, 1456, 1498, 1603, 1692 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Ronald History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ronald Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Ronald has appeared in various documents spelled MacDonald, Macdonald, McDonald, Donaldson, MacDonny and many more.

Early Notables of the Ronald family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was John of Islay, or John MacDonald, (d. 1386), the first Lord of the Isles (1336-1386) and chief of Clan Donald. He was he was the son of Angus Og Macdonald, who died at Isla about 1329, and was buried at Icolmkill. The Macdonalds trace their descent from Donald, elder son of Refinald, second son of Sommerled of Argyll, king of the Isles. On account of a dispute with the regent regarding certain lands, John of Isla joined the party of Edward Baliol, to whom, in consideration of a grant of the lands of...
Another 354 words (25 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ronald Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ronald Ranking

In the United States, the name Ronald is the 16,750^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Ronald family to Ireland

Some of the Ronald family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ronald migration to the United States +

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ronald or a variant listed above:

Ronald Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John A Ronald, who landed in Colorado in 1878 4

Ronald migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ronald Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Edward Ronald, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Diadem" in 1840 5

Ronald migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Ronald Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Ronald, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Nelson" arriving in Wellington, North Island, New Zealand on 24th September 1842 6
Miss Mary Ronald, (b. 1834), aged 30, British cook travelling aboard the ship "Amoor" arriving in Lyttleton, South Island, New Zealand on 1st July 1864 6
John Ronald, aged 29, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dunedin" in 1875 7
Jane Ronald, aged 28, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dunedin" in 1875 7
Robert Ronald, aged 31, a miner, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dunedin" in 1875 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Ronald (post 1700) +

Sir Landon Ronald (1873-1938), born Landon Ronald Russell, an English conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and administrator, principal of the Guildhall School of Music in London
Walter Ronald, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Washington, 1912 (speaker) 8
James Theodore Ronald (1855-1950), American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Seattle, Washington, 1892-94; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Washington at-large, 1900; Superior Court Judge in Washington, 1909-49 8
J. H. Ronald, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 1916 8
Terry Ronald, English songwriter and producer from London
Raymond Ronald Jones (1939-2025), better known as Wizz Jones, English acoustic guitarist, and singer-songwriter
John Ronald Lidster (1916-2008), British archaeologist and curator based in Yorkshire
Peter Ronald Webster (1932-2025), Australian rules footballer, played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (1953-1959)
Alfred Ronald Dawson (1932-2024), Irish rugby union player
Mark Ronald Wells (1957-2024), American professional ice hockey forward who was best known for being a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team

The Ronald Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Per mare per terras
Motto Translation: By sea and by land.

Sources +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Polson, Alexander, The Romance of Scottish Crests and Mottoes. Inverness: Walter Alexander, Inglis Street 1929. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The barque DIADEM 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Diadem.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 9th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html