Given name
Yonah
“resembling a dove”·“dove”
Yonah is a form of Jonah. One Hebrew interpretation is “dove.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Hebrew use, Yonah carries the interpretation “resembling a dove.” Yonah is a form of Jonah. One Hebrew interpretation is “dove.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
Yonah is used as a form of Jonah.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1974. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Yonah is a form of Jonah. The history of Jonah gives this family its wider story. In biblical tradition, Jonah is the name of a prophet.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Yonah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 937
- 911 boys · 26 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 43 babies
- 2025
- 42
- #2,989 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +45%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 42 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,989 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 42.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 725 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Yonah’s family of names
Yonah is a form of Jonah. Yonah has a related form in Yonas. Yonah has a related form in Yona.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Yonah
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Yonah, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Adonai
“my foundation” · “my Lord”
88% boys · 12% girls
Elohim
“but probably powers or forces”
>99% boys
Ithiel
“God is with me”
>99% boys
Asriel
“God has filled with joy”
>99% boys
Eliab
“(my) God is father”
>99% boys
Asaiah
“Yah has made”
97% boys · 3% girls
Elioenai
“unto Yah are my eyes” · “Yah the God of my eyes”
>99% boys
Eliphaz
“God is fine gold” · “God is agile”
>99% boys