Ronin is the Japanese word for a samurai without a master, a "wanderer" or "drifter", literally a wave man tossed about like the sea; the tale of the 47 ronin is one of Japan's great stories of loyalty. American parents also hear it as a fresh spelling of the Irish Ronan, "little seal". Ronin entered the US top 1000 in 2007, peaked at number 390 in 2020 and ranks number 504 in 2025.