Yonas
A masculine name of Hebrew derivation meaning "dove".
Name Census estimates that about 403 living Americans carry the first name Yonas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yonas today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yonas births was 2003 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yonas. 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
403
~ 1 in 850,507 Americans
Peak year
2003
22 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,155
Tracked since 1985
Popularity
Yonas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yonas from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 120 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Yonas remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yonas 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 Yonas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yonas' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yonas
The name Yonas has its origins in the Hebrew language and is a variant of the biblical name Jonah. It is derived from the Hebrew word "yonah," which means "dove." The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times, dating back to the 8th century BC.
In the Bible, Jonah was a prophet who was famously swallowed by a large fish or whale after disobeying God's command to preach in the city of Nineveh. The Book of Jonah in the Old Testament recounts his story, which has become a well-known biblical narrative.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Yonas can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where it appears as the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Jonah. The Gospel of Matthew (12:39-41) and the Gospel of Luke (11:29-32) reference Jonah and his significance as a sign to the people of that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yonas. One of the earliest was Yonas of Sirmium, a 4th-century Christian bishop and writer who lived in the Roman province of Pannonia (modern-day Serbia and Hungary). He is known for his writings against the Arian heresy.
Another prominent figure was Yonas Butchens (c. 1550-1629), a Dutch scholar and theologian who wrote extensively on the Book of Jonah and its allegorical interpretations. He served as a professor at the University of Leiden and was highly regarded in his time.
In the 17th century, Yonas Michaëlius (1577-1638) was a Dutch Reformed minister who is credited with establishing the first Protestant church in what is now New York City. He arrived in the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1628 and played a significant role in the early religious life of the settlement.
The name Yonas also has a presence in Ethiopian history. Yonas IV (1831-1868) was a prominent emperor of Ethiopia who ruled from 1858 until his death. He is remembered for his efforts to modernize the country and strengthen its ties with European powers.
In more recent times, Yonas Kebede (born 1981) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who has won numerous international marathons and competitions. He represented Ethiopia at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and continues to be a prominent figure in the world of athletics.
People
Yonas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yonas 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
Yonas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yonas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 403 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yonas 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 850,507 US residents.
Is Yonas a common name?
We classify Yonas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yonas most popular?
The single biggest year for Yonas was 2003, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yonas is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yonas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yonas 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.