The Rona

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About

The Rona is a slang term used as a colloquial nickname from the coronavirus (not to be confused with "Ronas," an informal nickname for Corona-brand beers).

Origin

The origin of the term is unknown. On January 20th, 2020, Twitter ^[1] user @iDvsty posted the earliest available usage of the word online in reference to the coronavirus. They wrote, "Insane growth this month! So proud of the Rona Gang… We are spreading around the world like a virus! #coronavirus."

Spread

On March 9th, 2020, Urban Dictionary ^[2] user autrona defined the term "the correct term for the Coronavirus." The post received more than 3,100 upvotes in less than one month (shown below).

Throughout March 2020, the term continued to experience a surge in usage. ON March 10th, Twitter^[3] user @_AndreMarquis_ tweeted, "Me trynna hold all my coughs so niggas don't think I got the rona !" The tweet received more than 93,000 likes and 27,000 retweets in less than one month (shown below, left). On March 27th, Twitter^[4] user @jenn7399 tweeted, "me when i call it COVID-19 instead of the rona." The tweet received more than 142,000 likes and 35,000 retweets in less than one month (shown below, right).

On April 5th, actor Samuel L. Jackson used the term in a reading of "Stay the F**k at Home" on The Jimmy Kimmel Show. IGN posted about the video and received more than 7,500 likes and 2,700 retweets in less than one week (shown below).

The ’rona is spreading,
This sh*t is no joke,
It’s no time to work or roam.

The way you can fight it is simple my friends:
Just stay the f*ck at home. pic.twitter.com/YpqVkpl5In

— IGN (@IGN) April 5, 2020

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References