Jonathna
Of Hebrew derivation, signifying "Jehovah has bestowed".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Jonathna. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jonathna today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonathna births was 1988 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonathna. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jonathna. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1988
5 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,860
Tracked since 1988
Popularity
Jonathna: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonathna 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 Jonathna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonathna
The name Jonathna is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language, derived from the name Yonatan or Jonathan, which means "God has given" or "gift of God." This name traces its roots back to ancient Israelite culture and is found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Samuel.
In biblical accounts, Jonathna was the name of the son of King Saul and a close friend of David. Their friendship and loyalty to one another are chronicled in various passages, making Jonathna a prominent figure in the biblical narrative. This association with the Hebrew Scriptures has contributed to the name's enduring presence in various religious and cultural contexts.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jonathna can be found in ancient Israelite records and manuscripts dating back to the 11th century BCE. While the spelling may have varied slightly over time, the essence of the name remained rooted in its Hebrew origins.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Jonathna include Jonathna the Hasmonean, a Jewish leader during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE. Another prominent individual was Jonathna ben Uzziel, a renowned scholar and author of the Targum Jonathna, an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, around the 1st century CE.
In the Middle Ages, Jonathna rose to prominence as the name of several influential figures, such as Jonathna Halikhuthi, a Jewish philosopher and theologian from the 12th century CE, and Jonathna ben David Kohen, a prominent rabbi and scholar from the 13th century CE.
During the Renaissance period, Jonathna was the name of several notable individuals, including Jonathna Trelawny, an English bishop and theologian from the 16th century, and Jonathna Swift, the renowned Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, and author, best known for his iconic work "Gulliver's Travels," who lived from 1667 to 1745.
In more recent centuries, the name Jonathna has continued to be used, though its popularity has fluctuated over time. One notable figure was Jonathna Edwards, an influential American philosopher, theologian, and revivalist preacher from the 18th century, who played a significant role in the Great Awakening religious revival.
Despite its historical roots and enduring presence, the name Jonathna has experienced ebbs and flows in popularity throughout various periods and cultures. Nevertheless, its biblical and linguistic heritage has ensured its place as a name with deep historical significance and cultural resonance.
People
Jonathna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonathna 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
Jonathna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonathna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonathna 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Jonathna a common name?
We classify Jonathna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonathna most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonathna was 1988, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonathna is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jonathna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jonathna a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jonathna in the SSA data are male. 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 Jonathna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jonathna 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 Jonathna 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Jonathna?
See how many Americans are named Jonathna on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.