NameRealm
Ronin

Ronin: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“masterless samurai”
Origin
Japanese
Say it
ROH-nin · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys (98% of all uses)

From Japanese rōnin, the historical term for a samurai without a lord. As a given name outside Japan it is modern and influenced by the word's cultural associations.

Japanese namesNames meaning warriorModern names

How popular is Ronin?

2024191 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Ronin in 2024636

2024 rank#493 boys

Peak year2020

Total US babies since 18809,874

Ronin is rising: use over the last five years is 2.4× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Ronin

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Kobegod's door · Japanese
  • Raidenthunder and lightning · Japanese
  • Kodauncertain · Japanese
  • Kaizenimprovement; change for better · Japanese
  • Kenzohealthy and three · Japanese
  • Kenjihealthy second son · Japanese
  • Zenmeditation · Japanese
  • Jiraiyauncertain; likely a legendary personal name · Japanese

Ronin questions

What does the name Ronin mean?

Ronin means "masterless samurai". It comes from Japanese. From Japanese rōnin, the historical term for a samurai without a lord. As a given name outside Japan it is modern and influenced by the word's cultural associations.

Is Ronin a boy or girl name?

Ronin is mainly a boy's name in US records (98% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Ronin?

636 US babies were named Ronin in 2024. Its peak year was 2020.

How do you pronounce Ronin?

Ronin is usually pronounced ROH-nin.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.