Yonael
Hebrew name meaning "God answers" or "answered by God".
Name Census estimates that about 93 living Americans carry the first name Yonael. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yonael today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yonael births was 2015 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yonael. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yonael with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yonael. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
93
~ 1 in 3,685,531 Americans
Peak year
2015
25 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,705
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Yonael: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yonael from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 66 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yonael remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yonael 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 Yonael during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yonaels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yonael
The name Yonael likely originated from the Hebrew language, where it is believed to be a combination of the elements "Yo" and "El," with "Yo" meaning "God" and "El" meaning "the Lord." The name can be interpreted as "God is the Lord" or "God's God." This suggests that the name has deep religious and spiritual roots, possibly being derived from ancient Hebrew texts or scriptures.
In terms of historical references, there are few definitive records of the name Yonael being used in ancient times. However, some scholars have speculated that it may have been a variation or alternate spelling of the name "Yonah," which was the name of a prophet in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Yonah is known for being swallowed by a giant fish and later emerging unharmed, a story that is often interpreted as a symbolic representation of spiritual rebirth and renewal.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Yonael can be traced back to the Middle Ages, where it was used primarily by Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East. One notable figure from this period was Yonael ben Abraham Gerundi, a 13th-century Spanish rabbi and philosopher who wrote extensively on Jewish law and ethics.
In the 16th century, there was Yonael Abravanel, a Portuguese Jewish scholar and writer who lived from 1515 to 1585. He was known for his works on Jewish mysticism and his commentaries on various religious texts.
Moving forward to the 19th century, there was Yonael Nahmias, a Moroccan-born Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived from 1839 to 1919. He was highly respected for his expertise in Jewish law and tradition and played a significant role in preserving the cultural heritage of Moroccan Jews.
In more recent times, one notable figure was Yonael Gluck, an Israeli composer and musician who lived from 1938 to 2012. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Israeli classical music and for incorporating elements of traditional Jewish melodies into his compositions.
While the name Yonael has its roots in ancient Hebrew language and culture, it has been used across various Jewish communities throughout history, often by individuals who have made significant contributions to religious scholarship, literature, and the arts.
People
Yonael + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yonael as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yonael: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yonael?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 93 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yonael 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 3,685,531 US residents.
Is Yonael a common name?
We classify Yonael as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 94 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yonael most popular?
The single biggest year for Yonael was 2015, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yonael is about 9 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 Yonael in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yonael a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yonael 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 Yonael still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yonael 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 Yonael 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 have Yonael as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.