Jonee
A feminine variant of the masculine name Jonathan meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 276 living Americans carry the first name Jonee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jonee today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonee births was 1997 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonee. 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
276
~ 1 in 1,241,864 Americans
Peak year
1997
23 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2003 SSA rank
#16,934
Tracked since 1954
Census
Jonee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 334 people with the first name Jonee, which placed it at #27,416 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
#27,416
National first-name rank
People counted
334
334 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jonee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonee is Black at 51.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.1%) and Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Jonee 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 Jonee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.8% · 173
- White31.1% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 12
- Two or more races3.0% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Jonee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jonee from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 127 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonee 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 Jonee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jonees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonee
The name Jonee is an anglicized form of the Hebrew name Yonah, meaning "dove" or "pigeon." It has its origins in ancient Semitic languages, with similar spellings found in Aramaic, Arabic, and other related tongues. The dove symbolizes peace, purity, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in various religious traditions.
The name Yonah appears in the Old Testament, where it is borne by the prophet Jonah, who was famously swallowed by a large fish or whale. This biblical story, found in the Book of Jonah, dates back to around the 8th century BCE and has been a source of inspiration for artists and writers throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jonee can be found in medieval English records from the 12th century, where it appears as a variant of the more common John or Jon. It likely emerged as a diminutive or nickname form during this period.
In the 16th century, the Italian painter and architect Jonee Bernardo di Starna (c. 1510-1571) was a notable figure who bore this name. He worked on several projects in Rome and was known for his frescoes and architectural designs.
Another historical figure was Jonee de Vries (1535-1598), a Dutch theologian and humanist who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a prominent scholar and authored several influential works on theology and philosophy.
In the 18th century, the French painter Jonee-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755) was renowned for his depictions of hunting scenes and animals. His paintings were highly sought after by the French aristocracy and are now displayed in prestigious museums around the world.
The American poet and abolitionist Jonee Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) was a prominent figure in the 19th century. His works often addressed themes of social justice, abolition, and the beauty of nature, and he was a highly respected voice in the literary circles of his time.
Lastly, the British explorer and sailor Jonee Franklin (1786-1847) is remembered for his ill-fated Arctic expedition in search of the Northwest Passage. While the expedition ultimately ended in tragedy, Franklin's bravery and determination have been celebrated in numerous books and films.
People
Jonee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonee 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
Jonee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 276 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonee 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 1,241,864 US residents.
Is Jonee a common name?
We classify Jonee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 295 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonee most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonee was 1997, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonee is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jonee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 334 people with the name Jonee, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,416 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 Jonee 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 Jonee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jonee leans strongly female. 318 people counted with this name were female (96.1%), compared with 13 male bearers (3.9%). 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 Jonee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonee is Black at 51.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.1%) and Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Jonee most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jonee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.8% (173 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 Jonee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jonee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jonee 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 Jonee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jonee 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 Jonee 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 have the name Jonee?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Jonee, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.