Jonathan
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
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
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jonathan peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
81,734 people · the #376 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 2,488 · median age 26
Among people named Jonathan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 2,494 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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.
Where Jonathan travels
Korean American · A dignified church name used across generations of Korean American families.
Keep exploring
Names like Jonathan · Nicknames for Jonathan · Middle names for Jonathan · Korean American baby names
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