Jonah
Top 1000
About Jonah
Jonah, the name of the Old Testament prophet who was swallowed by the whale, only to emerge unharmed three days later, is increasingly appreciated by parents looking for a biblical name less common than Jacob or Joshua, yet not too obscure. Plus, Jonah comes with a ready-made nursery-decorating motif.
The appealing Jonah has been featured in such movies as Sleepless in Seattle and Knocked Up and is currently represented by actor/writer Jonah Hill.
Jonas is the Greek version and Yona is a female spin.
Pronounced JO-nuh.
As of October 2026, Jonah ranked #128 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #124 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #179.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #138 | 2,920 | 1,520.1 |
| 2015 | #143 | 2,913 | 1,519.8 |
| 2016 | #150 | 2,778 | 1,463.8 |
| 2017 | #154 | 2,523 | 1,363.1 |
| 2018 | #145 | 2,725 | 1,500.4 |
| 2019 | #139 | 2,693 | 1,500.9 |
| 2020 | #128 | 2,819 | 1,633.2 |
| 2021 | #138 | 2,735 | 1,563.3 |
| 2022 | #135 | 2,749 | 1,574.4 |
| 2023 | #124 | 2,895 | 1,692.4 |
| 2024 | #126 | 2,879 | 1,671 |
| 2025 | #128 | 2,828 | 1,655.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Jonah.
- Elliott
- Maxwell
- Wesley
- Eli
- Micah
- Isaac
- Julian
- Spencer
- Harrison
- Seth
- Owen
- Miles
- Colin
- Evan
- Emmett
- Calvin
- Elliot
- Josiah
- Caleb
- Levi
Jonah on lists
Famous Jonahs
- Jonah
Biblical prophet
- Jonah Hill (Feldstein)
American actor
- Jonah Bobo
American actor
- Jonah Tali Lomu
New Zealand rugby union player
- Jonah Marais
American Musical Artist, part of Why Don't We boyband
- Jonah Jacob Goldberg
American columnist and author
- Jonah James Bayliss
American baseball player
- Jonah Cardeli Falcon
American actor and TV personality
- Robert Elliott "Jonah" Jones
American jazz trumpeter
- Leonard "Jonah" Jones
Welsh sculptor
- Jonah Keri
sportswriter/FiveThirtyEight contributor
- Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole
prince of Hawaii, U.S. Congressional delegate
- Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga
American singer,songwriter
- Jonah Raskin
American author
- Jonah Ray (Rodrigues)
American actor and comedian
- Jonah Nimoy
American musician, grandson of actor Leonard Nimoy
- Jonah Cairns
son of musician Andy Cairns of Therapy?
- Jonah Hwang
son of actress Jennifer Lien and filmmaker Phil Hwang
- Jonah (b. 2004)
son of supermodel Tatjana Patitz
- Jonah Bucatinsky (b. 2008)
son of actor Dan Bucatinsky and screenwriter Don Roos
- Jonah Frank King (b. 2011)
son of journalists Dana Bash and John King
- Jonah Buckland (b. 2011)
son of guitarist Jonny Buckland of Coldplay
- Jonah Maddox
Phillip Bryant (b. 2012), son of singer Lil' Mo and Phillip Bryant
- Jonah Christopher Deffenbaugh (b. 2012)
son of singer Jo Dee Messina and Chris Deffenbaugh
- Jonah Josiah Rivera (b. 2015)
son of singers Jaclyn Victor and Shawn Rivera
Jonah in pop culture
- Jonah Woodson Hex
character in DC Universe
- Jonah
character in "Cat's Cradle" (1963) by Kurt Vonnegut
- Jonah Baldwin
son in movie "Sleepless in Seattle"
- Jonah Takalua
character in "Summer Heights High" and "Jonah from Tonga"
- Jonah Breeland
character on TV's "Hart of Dixie"
- Jonah Ryan
character on TV's "Veep"
- Jonah
character in British comic "The Beano" by Ken Reid
- Jonah Skidmore
main character in Margaret Peterson Haddix's "The Missing” series
- Jonah Aickman
character in movie "The Haunting in Connecticut"
- J. Jonah Jameson
character in the Spider,Man series
- Jonah Kirby
character on British TV's "Waterloo Road"
- "Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000
" 1975 Swiss movie
- Jonah Simms
character on TV's "Superstore"
- Jonah Jeremiah "JJ" Jones
character from British TV series "Skins"
- Jonah Beck
character on the Disney Channel show "Andi Mack"
- Jonah
side kick in new Tomb Raider games
- Jonah Griggs
character in YA novel "On the Jellicoe Road" by Melina Marchetta
- Jonah Bishop
a character from the Nickelodeon cartoon "Welcome To The Wayne"