Jonothan
Gift of Jehovah, or Jehovah has given.
Name Census estimates that about 823 living Americans carry the first name Jonothan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jonothan today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonothan births was 1982 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonothan. 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
823
~ 1 in 416,469 Americans
Peak year
1982
33 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,992
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Jonothan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jonothan from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 227 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonothan 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 Jonothan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jonothans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Jonothan, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonothan
The name Jonothan is an English variant of the Hebrew name Jonah or Jonathan, meaning "gift of God" or "given by God." It originates from the Biblical figure Jonah, the reluctant prophet who was famously swallowed by a whale or large fish.
The name Jonothan appeared in various early English texts and records from the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jonothan Fitz-Urse, a Norman knight who was implicated in the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170.
During the Protestant Reformation, the name Jonothan gained popularity among Puritan families in England and later in the American colonies. This was due to the influence of the Bible and the desire to give children names with religious significance.
One notable bearer of the name was Jonothan Edwards (1703-1758), a influential American Puritan philosopher, theologian, and revivalist preacher. He played a key role in the Great Awakening, a religious revival movement in the British colonies in North America.
Another famous Jonothan was Jonothan Swift (1667-1745), the Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, poet, and cleric best known for his satirical novel "Gulliver's Travels." His works were highly influential in the English language and literature.
In the 19th century, Jonothan was a popular name among English and American families, particularly in the United States. One notable bearer was Jonothan Trumbull (1740-1809), a celebrated American painter during the period of the American Revolutionary War. He is known for his historical paintings and portraits of important figures such as George Washington.
Another prominent figure with the name Jonothan was Jonothan Letterman (1824-1872), an American surgeon and medical administrator who served as the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. He is credited with establishing the first modern ambulance corps and casualty evacuation system.
People
Jonothan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonothan 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
Jonothan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonothan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 823 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonothan 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 416,469 US residents.
Is Jonothan a common name?
We classify Jonothan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 882 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonothan most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonothan was 1982, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonothan is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jonothan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jonothan 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.
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.