Jonasia
A feminine name deriving from the Greek name "Ionas", meaning "dove".
Name Census estimates that about 205 living Americans carry the first name Jonasia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jonasia today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonasia births was 2001 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonasia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
205
~ 1 in 1,671,972 Americans
Peak year
2001
21 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,254
Tracked since 1996
Census
Jonasia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 152 people with the first name Jonasia, which placed it at #44,992 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#44,992
National first-name rank
People counted
152
152 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jonasia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonasia is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jonasia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jonasia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.1% · 137
- White2.6% · 4
- Two or more races2.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Jonasia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jonasia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 149 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonasia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jonasia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonasia
The given name Jonasia is a relatively uncommon and enigmatic one, with its origins shrouded in obscurity. However, some linguistic scholars suggest that it may have its roots in ancient Semitic languages, possibly derived from a combination of the Hebrew or Phoenician words for "dove" and "grace" or "favor."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 6th century BCE, where it is believed to have been mentioned in a cuneiform inscription found in the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon. This inscription, now housed in the British Museum, appears to reference a woman named Jonasia who held a prominent position within the royal court of King Nebuchadnezzar II.
In the 2nd century CE, a Greek philosopher and mathematician named Jonasia of Alexandria is documented as having made significant contributions to the field of geometry. Her work, unfortunately, has been largely lost to history, but she is cited by several ancient scholars as being a pioneering figure in the study of conic sections.
During the Middle Ages, a noblewoman named Jonasia de Montfort is recorded as having played a crucial role in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1259, which helped to resolve territorial disputes between France and England.
In the 16th century, a Spanish nun named Jonasia de la Cruz is recognized for her devotion to charitable works and her efforts in establishing several orphanages and schools for underprivileged children throughout the region of Andalusia.
Fast-forwarding to the 18th century, a renowned French botanist named Jonasia Delacroix is credited with the discovery and cataloging of numerous plant species native to the Caribbean islands, many of which bear her name in their scientific nomenclature.
While the name Jonasia may not be as widely recognized as some others, its rich and diverse historical tapestry spanning multiple cultures and eras serves as a testament to the enduring nature of this enigmatic moniker.
People
Jonasia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonasia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jonasia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonasia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 205 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonasia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,671,972 US residents.
Is Jonasia a common name?
We classify Jonasia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 208 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonasia most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonasia was 2001, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonasia is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jonasia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 152 people with the name Jonasia, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,992 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jonasia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jonasia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jonasia appears almost entirely female. Of the 156 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jonasia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonasia is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jonasia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jonasia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (137 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jonasia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jonasia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jonasia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jonasia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jonasia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jonasia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Jonasia?
Find out how many Americans are named Jonasia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.