Given name & surname
Jonathan
“God has given”·“a gift of God”
Jonathan is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “God has given” and “a gift of God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Hebrewיוֹנָתָן
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “God has given” and “a gift of God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Jonathan appears in 1 Samuel 13:2.
From biblical name research
Jonathan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 874,440
- 870,866 boys · 3,574 girls
- Most popular year
- 1988
- 24,513 babies
- 2025
- 3,827
- #89 for boys · #15,980 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −30%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 3,822 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 89 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 30.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 24,349 in 1988. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (541). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 717,208 as a first name in 2020; 940 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.
Jonathan’s family of names
In English usage, Jonathan has a diminutive in Jack. Jonathan shares a linguistic root with Seonac. Jonathan has a conventional equivalent in the German form Jon.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jonathan has relatives in 20 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 24
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Jackdiminutive · English
- Nathanshort form · English, ceb
- Johnathanvariant · English
- Jondiminutive · English, German
- Jonathonvariant · English
- Johnathonvariant
- Jonatanvariant · Swedish, German
- Jonnydiminutive · English
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- Jonashort form · Norwegian Bokmål
- Jojodiminutive · ceb
- Jonnathanlikely variant
- Jontediminutive · Swedish
- Jonatthanlikely variant
- Johnathynvariant
- Jonathynvariant
- Johnathenvariant
- Jonathenvariant
- Jonatonvariant
- Jonathhanlikely variant
- Jonathannlikely variant
- Tantandiminutive · ceb
- Jontydiminutive · English
- Jonatynvariant
- Jonatenvariant
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 19
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 14
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jonathan
- Jonathan SwiftAnglo-Irish satirist and essayist (1667–1745)
- Jon VoightAmerican actor (born 1938)
- Jonathan WintersAmerican comedian, actor, artist (1925–2013)
- J. K. SimmonsAmerican actor (born 1955)
- Jonathan DemmeAmerican filmmaker (1944–2017)
- Jon StewartAmerican comedian, writer, producer, activist, and television hostborn 1962
- Jon LordEnglish composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player (1941–2012)
- Jony IveEnglish designer and former Chief Design Officer at Apple (born 1967)
- Jonathan Rhys MeyersIrish actor (born 1977)
Characters named Jonathan: Human Torch (Marvel Comics), Scarecrow (DC Comics), Jigsaw (the film series Saw), Jonathan Archer (Star Trek: Enterprise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jonathan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jordan
“flowing down”
85% boys · 15% girls
Joshua
“God . is salvation” · “God is salvation”
>99% boys
Aaron
“Exalted” · “mountain of strength”
>99% boys
Joel
“jehovah is God; God is willing”
>99% boys
Benjamin
“son of the right hand” · “son of the south”
>99% boys
Matt
“gift of God” · “a gift from God”
>99% boys
Greg
“watchful” · “one who is vigilant; watch-”
>99% boys
Jason
“I heal”
>99% boys