Jonas
Jonas was the 599th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 476 babies. Its best year was 2008, when it ranked 274th with 1,256 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 173 places. More babies were named Jonas in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning dove (Greek form of Jonah) · Hebrew, Greek
Say it JOH-nus /ˈdʒoʊnəs/
- Rank in 2025
- #599 boys, down 113 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 476boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20081,256 babies
- Total since 1880
- 28,588babies recorded
What does the name Jonas mean?
Jonas is the Greek and Latin form of Jonah, the prophet swallowed by a great fish. DMNES explains that the Greek Old Testament used Ionas for Hebrew Yonah, dove. The Wycliffite Bible of the 1390s used the form Jonas, and DMNES records the name in England by the 1560s, and earlier in German-speaking lands, France and the Low Countries. English Bibles later settled on Jonah, but Jonas stayed in use as a first name.
יוֹנָה (Biblical Hebrew, “dove”)Ἰωνᾶς (Koine Greek, “Jonah”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jonah, Yonah, Jonás.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Jonas', DMNES (Durham University)
- Jonah 1:1, The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition (via Sefaria), Jewish Publication Society / Sefaria
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jonas' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Jonas
The usual nicknames for Jonas are Jonny. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Jonas in the last five years, 7 were named Jonny, against 10 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonny · also for Jonathan | Modern | #3,407 | 178 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jonass go by each one.
Jonas popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 28 since 1976.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #599 | 476 |
| 2020 | #486 | 609 |
| 2010 | #449 | 595 |
| 2000 | #511 | 444 |
| 1990 | #762 | 178 |
| 1980 | #455 | 341 |
| 1970 | #580 | 193 |
| 1960 | #907 | 70 |
| 1950 | #858 | 64 |
| 1940 | #879 | 52 |
| 1930 | #715 | 77 |
| 1920 | #708 | 84 |
| 1910 | #720 | 18 |
| 1900 | #408 | 31 |
| 1890 | #380 | 22 |
| 1880 | #323 | 28 |
How popular is Jonas, counting every spelling?
Jonas has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #593 for boys in 2025, against #599 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Jonas?
476 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jonas (0.13 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Jonas born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 18 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jonas.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jonas?
About 24,700 people born in the US named Jonas are alive today, with a median age of 19; half are between 11 and 31. That makes Jonas mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jonas by state
How common Jonas was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (2.2×), Pennsylvania (2.2×), Missouri (1.7×), Kentucky (1.6×), Massachusetts (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, Idaho, West Virginia.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jonas: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jonas, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jonas · Sibling names for Jonas
Questions about the name Jonas
What does Jonas mean?
Jonas means “dove (Greek form of Jonah)” (Hebrew, Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jonas?
Jonas was the 599th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 476 babies. Its best year was 2008, when it ranked 274th with 1,256 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 173 places. More babies were named Jonas in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Jonas a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Jonas in the US.
Where is Jonas most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jonas was most common in Utah (0.68 per 1,000 boys), followed by Pennsylvania and Missouri.