Given name & surname
Jonah
“dove”
Jonah is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “dove.”
Original Hebrewיונה
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “dove.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
The story
In biblical tradition, Jonah is the name of a prophet.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Jonah appears in Matthew 12:40, John 7:52, 2 Kings 14:25. It is mentioned 13 times in the New Testament.
- Matthew 12:40
- John 7:52
- 2 Kings 14:25
From biblical name research
Jonah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 86,075
- 85,283 boys · 792 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 2,998 babies
- 2025
- 2,867
- #128 for boys · #3,803 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +4%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,828 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 128 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 4.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,981 in 2008. It also appeared in 39 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (311). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 63,551 as a first name in 2020; 350 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jonah’s family of names
In English usage, Jonah shares an earlier linguistic root with Jonas. In English usage, Jonah has a conventional equivalent in the Hawaiian form Iona. In English usage, Jonah has a conventional equivalent in the French form Jonas.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jonah has relatives in 30 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
22 related names in 30 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 29
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- YunusTurkish
- IonaHawaiian
- Yonahrelated form
- Yonafeminine form
- GionaItalian
- യൂനുസ്equivalent
- യോനാequivalent
- Жунусequivalent
Show 21 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jonah
- Jonah HillAmerican actor (born 1983)
- Jonah LomuNew Zealand rugby union player (1975–2015)
- Jonah Hauer-KingBritish actorborn 1995
- Jonah BoboAmerican actorborn 1997
- Jonah FalconAmerican actor and writerborn 1970
- Jonah of MoscowMetropolitan of Kiev and all Rus', 1448-14611390–1461
- Jonah GoldbergAmerican political writer and punditborn 1969
- Jonah BoldenAustralian basketball player (born 1996)
- Jonah ibn JanahSpanish rabbi and lexicographer990–1050
Characters named Jonah: Jonah Hex (DC Comics character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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