Jonathan
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Meaning
"Yahweh has given," from the Hebrew Yehonatan; in the Bible the prince whose loyalty to David defined friendship. A steady Anglo-American classic for three centuries that folds warmly to Jon and Johnny without being John
Goes by Jon, Jonny, Jonty. See all nicknames
The story
Jonathan carries one of the Bible's great friendships. He was King Saul's eldest son, born to inherit Israel's throne, yet when Saul turned against the young David, Jonathan chose the friend: he made a covenant with him, handed over his own robe and armor, and warned him of every plot, though he, not David, was the heir. He fell beside his father at Mount Gilboa, and years later David honored the bond with his kindness to Jonathan's son. English parents embraced the name after the Protestant Reformation, Jonathan Swift lent it a satirist's wit, and in America it has behaved entirely in character: no spike, no collapse, just a patient climb across the whole twentieth century to a long run near the top from the 1990s through the 2010s. A name that keeps its promises.
Jonathan's name family
One shared root links 4 names in English.
Shared root: from Hebrew Yehonatan "Yahweh has given"; an independent biblical name, not a form of John despite the shared look
The family
More branches
How popular is Jonathan around the world?
In the United States, 25,419 babies were named Jonathan between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 214 boys named Jonathan were born in 2025, the 38th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Jonathan is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Montevideo, Norway, Mexico City, Argentina, South Australia, Canada, Spain, Chile, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand, England and Wales, Scotland, France and Poland.
Jonathan crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 860
In the United States, 25,419 babies were named Jonathan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jonathan peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Jonathan went to 7,671 US babies in 2015 and 3,827 in 2025, 50% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 360
In Austria, 214 boys named Jonathan were born in 2025, the 38th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
1 in 3902011
In Montevideo, 63 boys named Jonathan were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Norway
1 in 390register 2026
In Norway, 71 boys were given the name Jonathan in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Mexico City City
1 in 680
In Mexico City, there were 174 registrations of Jonathan in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (9 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 1,700
In Argentina, 400 newborns were given the name Jonathan in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
South Australia
1 in 1,7002017
In South Australia, 11 boys were registered as Jonathan in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 1,800
In Canada, 207 boys named Jonathan were born in 2024, the 161st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
1 in 1,800
In Spain, 24,786 residents are named Jonathan, the 130th most common name among men, with a mean age of 32.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Chile
1 in 2,000
In Chile, 91 boys were registered as Jonathan in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,000
In Puerto Rico, 9 babies were named Jonathan in 2025, and 2,946 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Brazil
1 in 2,500
At the 2022 census, 81,734 people in Brazil were named Jonathan, the 376th most common name, with a median age of 26.
Among people named Jonathan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 2,494 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
1 in 2,600
In Ireland, 21 boys named Jonathan were born in 2025, the 223rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
1 in 2,700
In New Zealand, 21 boys named Jonathan were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 3,800
In England and Wales, 153 boys named Jonathan were born in 2025, the 296th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 4,600
In Scotland, 10 boys named Jonathan were registered in 2024, the 352nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
France
1 in 9,900
In France, about 65 boys named Jonathan were born in 2025, the 642nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
1 in 62,000
In Poland, 4 boys named Jonathan were born in 2025, the 490th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Jonathan is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
How the spellings raced
Across these spellings, Jonathan led in the group’s busiest decade, the 1980s. So far in the 2020s, Jonathan leads.
Decade totals from US Social Security birth registrations. Every line uses the same scale. The 2020s covers 2020–2025.
When you meet Jonathan
Most people given the name Jonathan in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Jonathan you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Jonathan travels
Korean American · A dignified church name used across generations of Korean American families.
Keep exploring
Names like Jonathan · Names that go with Jonathan · Nicknames for Jonathan · Middle names for Jonathan · Korean American baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Jonathan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jonathan truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jonathan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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