Given name & surname
Ronin
“a Samurai who doesn't have a master”
Ronin is used as a given name and a surname. One Japanese interpretation is “a Samurai who doesn't have a master.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Japanese interpretation is “a Samurai who doesn't have a master.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Japanese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1998. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ronin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,494
- 10,272 boys · 222 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 813 babies
- 2025
- 617
- #504 for boys · #6,775 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 600 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 504 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 2.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 17 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (72). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,086 as a first name in 2020; 149 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ronin’s family of names
Ronin has a related form in Ronyn. In Russian usage, Ronin as a surname is a transliteration of Ронин.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
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