Jonah

What Jonah means

Means “dove”

From the Hebrew יוֹנָה (yônâh, “dove”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Jonah” (revision 93671812), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Jonah?

US: Rising: up from #143 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #158 in 2015, #147 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2023, when 2,900 boys got the name (#124 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 604 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 749 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 595 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (4.75 per 1,000 boys), ME (4.16 per 1,000 boys), ND (3.28 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Jonah is #128 in the US and #147 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.6% of US babies named Jonah were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Jonny34 US · 15 E&W
• Janoah18 US
• Jona13 US · 3 E&W
• Joni12 US
• Jenoah7 US
• Jony7 US
• Janai6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Jonah

Boys

• Elijah#7“Yahweh is my god”^*
• Noah#2Editor’s note Steady in the US: #1 in 2015 and #2 in 2025. About 1 in 84 US boys in the 2025 records
• Elisha#788Editor’s note Used for both: 85% of US babies named Elisha in 2025 were boys
• Malachi#134“my messenger”^*
• Isaac#47“he laughs, he will laugh”^*
• Uriel#445“God is my light”^*

For a sister

• Aliyah#263“ascent”^*
• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records
• Isabella#7Form of Isabel, meaning “my God is an oath”^*
• Anaiah#853Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1983, with 6 babies
• Sarai#424“master, chief”^*
• Lydia#92“the region of Lydia”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Jonah’s. Rank is US 2025.