Jonathan

given name · Latin script

Meaning: Jonathan is a classic biblical name meaning 'Yahweh has given,' associated with loyalty and faith

Recorded as a male name· opposite-gender records fall within measured source noise

/dʒɑnəθən/(machine-generated) pronunciation, model-generated

Jonathan is a given name written in the Latin script, with more bearers in the United States than in any other country, where it is the 80th most common given name.

rarermore common
  • ECEcuador1 in 211(measured from records)
  • GBUnited Kingdom≈1 in 385
  • SVEl Salvador≈1 in 391

carrying the name, as counted by its national register where one exists and as Mondonomo estimates it elsewhere (marked ≈ and "est." on hover). One hue, darker where it is more common; hover a country for its figure.

United States (measured from records)

717,208 people, 2020

#132 (measured from records)

of 15M given names

9 (measured from records)

recorded for this name

Sources
673 (measured from records)

Highest-authority source

1 in 211 (inferred from the name graph)

Ecuador

measured from records inferred from the name graph

Name dossier (print, CSV)

Spellings & scripts(measured from records)

JonathanLatin(measured from records)
יונתןHebrew(measured from records)
ዮናታንEthiopic(measured from records)
โจนาธรThai(measured from records)
জনাথনBengali(measured from records)
조나단Hangul(measured from records)
ΤζόναθανGreek(measured from records)
ՋոնաթանArmenian(measured from records)
ҶонатанCyrillic(measured from records)

5 other spellings are counted as the same name:

Locally spelled Johnathan in FR France.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin(measured from records)

Jonathan is a classic biblical name meaning 'Yahweh has given,' associated with loyalty and faith. Johanan, a related name meaning 'Yahweh is gracious,' is the original Hebrew form of the widely-used name John, offering a more traditional and distinctive choice.

Sources 1

  • Biblical Names Compiled Database

Attested across 14 languages in the etymology graph.

Where in the world(measured from records)

Jonathan counted together with the spellings and other-language forms grouped with it. Where a register counted another spelling, the row names it.

Sorted by bearers: national registers' counts, and Mondonomo's estimates (≈, est.) where no register counts.

Where Jonathan is recorded, by country
CountryMost common spellingSources
US United States#80717,2081 in 464716KJonathan673
PH Philippines#30≈250,000 est.≈1 in 444—Jonathan197
GB United Kingdom#53≈170,000 est.≈1 in 3856Jonathan442
NG Nigeria#269≈160,000 est.≈1 in 1.4K—Jonathan132
FR France—≈110,000 est.≈1 in 623106KJohnathan152
EC Ecuador—80,1211 in 21180KJonathan93
SE Sweden#17724,5321 in 41625KJonathan163
SV El Salvador#77≈17,000 est.≈1 in 391—Jonathan85
CR Costa Rica—13,2871 in 38413K—124

717,208 people counted by Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex, 2020. Exact figures are national registers' own counts, while figures marked ≈ and est. are Mondonomo’s estimates, counted from our sources and calibrated against those registers; hover one for how far to trust it in that country. A dash means neither exists.

Registers cited: Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex; Surnames of England and Wales (taliesin-arlein.net, Sept 2002 electoral register); INSEE — Fichier des prénoms (1900–2024); INEC — civil registry names; Skatteverket — Sök hur många som har ett visst namn (living population); TSE — electoral roll (padrón) names. Figures without a register are Mondonomo estimates; see Methodology.

Country figures for a list of names, at full precision, are available under licence rather than by scraping this table (how that works).

Other names spelled this way(inferred from the name graph)

Jonathan is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

  • French given name36 spellings in the group

    Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Canada

    Languages: French, Catalan

    Also written Jo-Nathan, Jo'Nathan, Jõnãthãn, Jona'Than, Jona-Than

  • a separate name6 spellings in the group

    Also written Jon-Athan, Jônathan, Jo-Nathan, Jónathan, Jonathán

  • Indonesian given name6 spellings in the group

    Most recorded in Indonesia, Philippines, United States, Malaysia

    Languages: Indonesian, Malay

    Also written 'Jonathan, Jônâthân, Jonathan'

  • Polish given name89 spellings in the group

    Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Russia

    Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

    Also written Джонатан, Jonatan, Johnathan, Йонатан, Ионатан

  • Lao given name34 spellings in the group

    Most recorded in Laos, United States, Thailand, United Kingdom

    Languages: Lao, Thai

    Also written Jonatan, โจนาธาน, Johathan, โจนาทาน, Jönäthän

93 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses(measured from records)

Jonathan is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

  • A classic and enduring biblical name, Jonathan means "God has given." It has a rich history and is often associated with loyalty and steadfast friendship, primarily due to the famous friendship between King David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

    as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database

  • A classic biblical name, Jonathan means "God has given." It has a timeless appeal, associated with strength and faithfulness, and belongs to a priest who participated in the joyous celebration of Jerusalem's restoration.

    as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database

  • Jonathan is a classic biblical name meaning 'gift of God.' It is famously associated with the loyal and courageous son of King Saul, whose deep friendship with David is a celebrated story of devotion.

    as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database

  • The name Jonathan is a classic biblical name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has given." It is associated with loyalty and strength, making it a timeless and popular choice for a boy.

    as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database

  • The name is derived from the Hebrew name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonatan) or its shortened form יוֹנָתָן (Yonatan), which combines 'Yeho' (a reference to God) and 'natan' (meaning 'to give').

    as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name(measured from records)

16001700180019002000Jonathan Swift, b. 1667Jon Voight, b. 1938David Gross, b. 1941Jonathan Pryce, b. 1947Jonathan Davis, b. 1971Lil Jon, b. 1972Jon Watts, b. 1981Jon Moxley, b. 1985Olivier Giroud, b. 1986Jon Jones, b. 1987
  • Jonathan Swiftb. 1667IEAnglo-Irish satirist and essayist (1667–1745)
  • Jon Voightb. 1938USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor (born 1938)
  • David Grossb. 1941USnot in their usual nameAmerican particle physicist and string theorist
  • Jonathan Pryceb. 1947GBWelsh actor (born 1947)
  • Jonathan Davisb. 1971USAmerican singer
  • Lil Jonb. 1972USnot in their usual nameAmerican rapper and record producer
  • Jon Wattsb. 1981USnot in their usual nameAmerican film director, producer and screenwriter
  • Jon Moxleyb. 1985USnot in their usual nameAmerican professional wrestler and actor
  • Olivier Giroudb. 1986FRnot in their usual nameFrench footballer (born 1986)
  • Jon Jonesb. 1987USnot in their usual nameAmerican mixed martial arts fighter

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them(machine-generated)

InformalHi Jonathan,

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Evidence(measured from records)

Attested in 146 sources across 83 countries.

Official registers attesting Jonathan
CountryRegisterYearCountRank
US United StatesCensus Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex2020716K#47
FR FranceINSEE — Fichier des prénoms (1900–2024)2024106K#585
EC EcuadorINEC — civil registry names202480K#18
SE SwedenSkatteverket — Sök hur många som har ett visst namn (living population)—25K#174
SE SwedenSCB — Namnstatistik (to 2023)202018K—
CR Costa RicaTSE — electoral roll (padrón) names—13K#29
US United StatesSSA — National Baby Names (1880–present)20253.8K—
US United StatesCensus Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex2020976#47
EC EcuadorINEC — Visualizador de Nombres y Apellidos, per-token query API (1900–2024)2024391—

Reference works 7

  • Dictionary of American Family Names
  • Nederlandse FamilienamenBank (Dutch surname bank; ex-Meertens Instituut, now CBG)2007
  • Nişanyan Adlar (Turkish given-name national-registry frequency)
  • Wikipedia given-name tokens
  • Wikipedia surname tokens
  • Wikidata name items (native-script + romanized given/family names)
  • Ethiopian name tokens (GitHub lehagere/ethiopian-names, 40/60 condominium list)

These works list the name; their figures are licensed and are not reproduced here.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

Is Jonathan a male or female name?
Jonathan is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.
What are other forms of the name Jonathan?
In the etymology graph, Nathan, Johnathan and Jonathon are forms of the same name in other languages; Jon, Jonny and Jonty are recorded short or pet forms.
What does the name Jonathan mean, and where does it come from?
Jonathan is a classic biblical name meaning 'Yahweh has given,' associated with loyalty and faith. Recorded by Biblical Names Compiled Database.
In which country does Jonathan have the most bearers?
In the United States, the national register counted about 717 thousand people named Jonathan, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled jonathan.
Where is Jonathan most common?
Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Jonathan is densest in Ecuador — about 1 in 211 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.
How common is the name Jonathan?
In the United States, the national register counted 717,208 people named Jonathan in 2020, about 1 in 464 residents.
How common is Jonathan compared with other names?
In the United States, Jonathan is the 80th most common given name of 2,815,431 given names recorded there.
How do you pronounce Jonathan?
A machine transcription gives /dʒɑnəθən/ (IPA) for English.

What do you want to know about Jonathan?

Nobody replies to these one by one, but what readers ask decides what these pages answer next.

Please leave out anyone's personal details (see Privacy).

Query this name via API
curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" https://api.mondonomo.ai/api/v1/name-graph/jonathan

The payload this page is built from: spellings and scripts, countries and languages, related names, and the registers that attest the form. It takes a free API key (1,000 requests a day), which returns what this page shows everyone; the full country table, every register citation and the year-by-year series come with a licensed key, as does bulk access.

About this data

measured from records inferred from the name graph machine-generated

These figures come from the data snapshot of and will change as it is rebuilt.

Statistics are aggregated from the Mondonomo name corpus; related names and etymology are inferred from the name graph; pronunciation and any machine-marked transliterations are model-generated. Read how the numbers are made, including their known failure modes, and where the data comes from.

Reference works we consult — surname dictionaries, official name registers, Wikidata and Wiktionary — are named directly, beside the claims they support. The per-country source counts also include datasets of person records: we publish how many there are and their authority tier, but not their names.

Cite this page Mondonomo, “Jonathan” — the 80th most common given name in United States. Data snapshot 2026-10-10.

See how Jonathan parses inside a full name →