Presented by

The first name 
Jonathan

Jonathan is a male first name. In very rare cases it is also used for girls.

The name Jonathan is very popular!

The first name Jonathan is one of the top 100 most popular boys names in the US – currently at #52 in our SmartGenius ranking. Over 1,000 babies each year are named Jonathan, accounting for approximately 0.40 % of all newborn boys. In total, there are currently 853,501 people – children, adults and seniors – named Jonathan living in the United States, which is approximately 0.25 % of the entire population.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Jonathan

What does the name 
Jonathan mean?

The first name Jonathan has a Hebrew origin and comes from the words ‘Yôḥānān’ or ‘Yəhôḥānān’, which means ‘Yahweh has given’. There are numerous forms and diminutiv of the name in different languages such as Jon, [Jonatan] or Gionata. The name is also related to the name Nathan.

Who is YHWH? YHWH is pronounced Yahweh, the name for the God of the Israelites as it was revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus.

Jonathan has several famous namesakes

An American actor

Jonathan Groff (*1985)
Groff is an American actor who began his career on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of FBI Special Agent Ford in the crime drama Mindhunter (2017 2019). Groff lives openly gay and is an LGBTQ+ activist.

An Irish actor

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (*1977)
The Irish actor also works as a model and musician. He acted in films such as Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Alexander (2004), Mission: Impossible III (2006) and as King Henry VIII in the drama series The Tudors (2007-2010).

Historic satirist

Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)
Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist and author. His best-known works include A Tale of a Tub (1704) and Gullivers Travels (1726). Originally, he published all of his works under pseudonyms or anonymously.

Known product designer

Jonathan Ive (*1967)
The British product designer was the chief design officer of Apple Inc. from 1997 until 2019. He is the creator of many of Apples iconic products, including the iMac, and the iPhone. In addition, he contributed to the design of Apple Park.

Go on a journey to places 
with your name

When you hear the name Jonathan, you might first think of people. But did you know that there are also places with the name Jonathan? Are you also called Jonathan? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...

A park named...

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is located in Martin County, Florida. It is a popular destination for hiking, picnicking, fishing, and camping.

In 1933...

the Jonathan Edwards College opened as Yales first residential college system. It is named for theologian Jonathan Edwards, a 1720 graduate of Yale College.

Jonathan Dayton...

High School is a public high school in Springfield, New Jersey. The school is named after Jonathan Dayton, a signer of the United States Constitution.

A social club...

named Jonathan Club is located in Los Angeles. It is ranked as one of the top clubs in the world. Women have only been allowed to become members since 1987.

Jonathan -
always with us since 1880

Appearing throughout the time in the United States, the name Jonathan is a staple in the country: Boys have been given the name Jonathan for more than 140 years, according to official U.S. naming statistics. Jonathan is therefore one of only 442 boys’ names that have been given every year since 1880. Even beyond that, Jonathan is a very special name, which reached its peak of popularity only in the last quarter of the 20th century, ranking in the top 100 boys' names in our SmartGenius statistics: With position 15 Jonathan has never been more popular than back in 1988.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Jonathan was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

4,183 newborn babies with the name Jonathan in 2022

As many as 4,183 babies were named Jonathan in the USA in 2022, ranking it #82 on the list of the most popular boys' names for that year. However, it experienced its lowest point of popularity in 1907, when it was only ranked at #703 of all male names in our SmartGenius statistics – back then only 11 boys were named Jonathan.

Jonathan -
at home all over the USA, especially popular in Nevada

Wherever you go, wherever you live – there’s a good chance to meet Jonathan. Because: There are men and boys named Jonathan in every state in the USA. This may sound quite unspectacular at first, but in fact, of the nearly 50,000 different male first names that occur in the USA, just 386 are recorded in each individual state, so the name Jonathan is definitely something very special. In some regions it even makes it into the top 100 of the most popular male first names, for example in Florida, where Jonathan ranks on position 17. The greatest chance of meeting Jonathan, however, is in Nevada, where one in 127 boys and men bears this beautiful name – that is far above average – in the entire USA it is only one in 196 men and boys and in South Dakota, where the name is least represented in relation to the population, you even have to ask an average of 350 men and boys for their name before you once get Jonathan as an answer.

Jonathan has 8 letters 
and begins with a J

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter J is the most popular first letter for boys’ names. 10.1% of all common boys’ names in the US start with this letter. The second most common first letter in boys’ names is A.

With eight letters, the name Jonathan is long compared to other names. In fact, 14.5% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly eight letters. 78% of all first names are shorter, while only 8% of all boys’ and girls’ names use nine letters or even more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long with no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

That means that if 10.1% of all boys’ names start with a J, this initial letter occurs nearly three times as often as all other letters on average. And, by the way, of all the boys’ names that begin with the letter J, the name James is the most common.

Other names with 
J, o, n, a, t, h, a and n

If you take all the letters in the name Jonathan – J, o, n, a, t, h, a and n – and put them together again, you can form other names, such as Jonahtan or others.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Jonathan

If your name is Jonathan and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Jonathan

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Jonathan, you can simply say:

Joker

Orange

Nut

Apple

Tiger

Hat

Apple

Nut

This is how the name Jonathan is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Jonathan in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Jonathan

Jonathan

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Jonathan

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Jonathan is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

J
O
N
A
T
H
A
N

Have you ever waved the name Jonathan

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

J
O
N
A
T
H
A
N

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Jonathan sounds like this: