# Jonathan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/jonathan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “god has given” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒɑnəθən/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Jon, Jonny, Jonty |
| Variant spellings | Jonathon, Johnathan |
| US babies named this | 874,440 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 870,866 / 3,574 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 17,404, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew יְהוֹנָתָן (yəhōnāṯān), יוֹנָתָן (yōnāṯān, literally “God has given”), apparently with influence from Aramaic [Term?].

## What it means

Jonathan is grouped under gift.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 14 | 8,476 |
| 2011 | 21 | 6,236 |
| 2012 | 10 | 10,808 |
| 2013 | 12 | 9,285 |
| 2014 | 10 | 10,511 |
| 2015 | 11 | 9,773 |
| 2016 | 16 | 7,408 |
| 2017 | 6 | 14,932 |
| 2018 | 7 | 13,071 |
| 2019 | 6 | 14,598 |
| 2020 | 9 | 10,656 |
| 2021 | 5 | 16,354 |
| 2022 | 8 | 11,675 |
| 2023 | 6 | 14,216 |
| 2025 | 5 | 15,980 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10,254 | 31 |
| 2012 | 9,372 | 34 |
| 2013 | 8,577 | 41 |
| 2014 | 8,120 | 44 |
| 2015 | 7,660 | 48 |
| 2016 | 6,982 | 56 |
| 2017 | 6,534 | 55 |
| 2018 | 5,779 | 63 |
| 2019 | 5,470 | 64 |
| 2020 | 4,757 | 70 |
| 2021 | 4,465 | 77 |
| 2022 | 4,220 | 79 |
| 2023 | 4,094 | 82 |
| 2024 | 4,028 | 83 |
| 2025 | 3,822 | 89 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 406 | 147 |
| 2012 | 344 | 170 |
| 2013 | 341 | 167 |
| 2014 | 335 | 171 |
| 2015 | 299 | 191 |
| 2016 | 287 | 195 |
| 2017 | 236 | 227 |
| 2018 | 217 | 238 |
| 2019 | 238 | 215 |
| 2020 | 192 | 247 |
| 2021 | 178 | 261 |
| 2022 | 162 | 277 |
| 2023 | 178 | 258 |
| 2024 | 148 | 302 |
| 2025 | 153 | 296 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: جُونَاثَان
- Armenian: Յովնաթան, Հովնաթան
- Chinese: 喬納森 /乔纳森
- Czech: Jonatán
- Danish: Jonathan
- Estonian: Joonatan
- Finnish: Joonatan
- French: Jonathan
- German: Jonathan
- Greek: Τζόναθαν, Ιωαναθάν, Ιωναθάν, Ιωνάθαν
- Hebrew: יְהוֹנָתָן, יוֹנָתָן
- Italian: Gionata
- Latin: Iōnāthās, Iōnāthān
- Norwegian: Jonathan
- Polish: Jonatan
- Portuguese: Jónatas, Jônatas, Jonathan
- Romanian: Ionatan
- Russian: Джо́натан
- Scottish Gaelic: Ianatan
- Spanish: Jonatán

## People named Jonathan

- Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist and essayist (1667–1745)
- Jonathan Winters, American comedian, actor, artist (1925–2013)
- Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker (1944–2017)
- Jonathan Tah, German footballer (born 1996)
- Jonathan Banks, American actor
- Jonathan Franzen, American writer
- Jonathan Nolan, British-American filmmaker (born 1976)
- Jonathan Groff, American actor and singer
- Jonathan Safran Foer, American novelist (born 1977)
- Jonathan Davis, American singer
- Jonathan David, Canadian soccer player
- Jonathan Edwards, Christian preacher, philosopher, and theologian (1703-1758)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.