| Ronan | Sullivan | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Little seal | dark-eyed (disputed) |
| Origin | Irish | irish |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | ROH-nun | SUHL-ih-vuhn |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1959 | 1884 |
| Peak year | 2025 (1,406) | 2025 (1,083) |
| In 2025 | 1,406 | 1,083 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ronan | Sullivan |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 7,749 | 5,564 |
| 2010s | 9,092 | 6,428 |
| 2000s | 3,343 | 2,135 |
| 1990s | 322 | 535 |
| 1980s | 84 | 83 |
| 1970s | 32 | 86 |
| 1960s | 47 | 85 |
| 1950s | 10 | 129 |
| 1940s | 0 | 114 |
| 1930s | 0 | 110 |
| 1920s | 0 | 141 |
| 1910s | 0 | 122 |
| 1900s | 0 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0 | 63 |
| 1880s | 0 | 30 |
Rónán means “little seal,” from the Irish rón.
Anglicized from Irish O Suilleabhain, from 'suil' meaning 'eye' plus a second element usually read as 'dubh' (dark/black), giving 'dark-eyed'. The second element is disputed; alternative readings give 'one-eyed' or 'hawk-eyed', so the 'dark' sense is probable rather than certain.
Ronan is more popular than Sullivan today: about 1,406 US babies were given the name Ronan in 2025, compared with 1,083 named Sullivan.
Ronan means Little seal (Irish origin), while Sullivan means dark-eyed (disputed) (irish origin).
In US records, Ronan first appears in 1959 and Sullivan in 1884, so Sullivan has the longer recorded history.