Feminine variant of Ronnie, from Old Norse Ragnvaldr meaning "ruler's counsel."
Ronni is a diminutive and feminized form of Ronald, which derives from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr, a compound of regin (advice, decision, the gods) and valdr (ruler) — giving it the powerful ancestral meaning of "ruler's counsel" or "he who rules with divine guidance." While Ronald has been a sturdy masculine name throughout the English-speaking world, the softened Ronni spelling emerged as a feminine adaptation, part of a mid-twentieth-century trend of giving girls boyish names with a feminine twist in the ending. The name was particularly fashionable in the United States from the 1940s through the 1960s, when androgynous nicknames like Ronni, Bobbi, and Joni were considered stylishly modern for girls.
It evokes the confident, no-nonsense spirit of that postwar generation — women who balanced femininity with a certain directness. Ronni Chasen, the prominent Hollywood publicist, exemplified the name's association with sharp competence and industry savvy. Today Ronni is genuinely rare, which gives it a retro-chic appeal.
It sits comfortably alongside a growing interest in reviving mid-century names that feel neither stale nor overused. For parents seeking a short, punchy, gender-adjacent name with genuine historical roots, Ronni offers warmth and character without the self-conscious quirkiness of fully invented names.