Jonathan

Hebrew

"gift of Jehovah"

Jonathan Origin and Meaning

The name Jonathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of Jehovah".

Jonathan was derived from the Hebrew name Yehonatan, eventually contracted to the modern Yonatan, meaning "gift of Jehovah." It comes from the elements yeho, in reference to God, and natan, meaning "to give." In the Old Testament, Jonathan was the valiant eldest son of King Saul, and it was his friendship with brother-in-law David that gave rise to the expression "Jonathan and David" to describe devoted, steadfast friends.

Jonathan is the biblical name that started to replace the stalwart John in the late fifties, sounding more playful, sensitive and modern. Now, after being high on the list for several decades, Jonathan has pretty much lost its luster.

Anne Hathaway named her oldest son Jonathan Rosebanks in 2016.

Jonathan has spawned numerous spelling variations, including Johnathan, Jonathon, and Jonothan.

Jonathan Rank in US Top 1000

# 83 in the US

Jonathan Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 173 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Jonathan

• 83 US 2024
• 173 Nameberry 2025
• 162 Canada 2024
• 302 England 2024
• 100 Australia 2014
• 44 Germany 2024
• 124 Netherlands 2015
• 43 Mexico 2021
• 91 sweden 2021
• 50 Norway 2018
• 187 switzerland 2024
• 40 Austria 2024

20 Names Similar to Jonathan

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Jonathan.

• Christian
• Anthony
• Eric
• Christopher
• Michael
• Mark
• Stephen
• Adam
• Jeremy
• Jeremiah
• Johnathan
• Joshua
• David
• Matthew
• Alan
• Joseph
• Aaron
• Timothy
• Nicolas
• Kevin

Famous People Named Jonathan

• Jonathan valiant man under King David, son of Shage (1 Chr. 11:34)
• Jonathan son of Abiathar, a priest in King David's reign (2 Samuel 17:27)
• Jonathan father of Ebed, who returned to Israel with Ezra (Ezra 8:6)
• Jonathan son of Asahel; mentioned in Ezra 10:15
• Jonathan Swift Irish novelist
• Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Hamm American actor
• Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz birth name of Jon Stewart, American comedian and TV host
• Jonathan Harshman Winters American comedian
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers Irish actor
• (Robert) Jonathan Demme American film director
• Jonathan Scott Frakes American actor
• Jonathan Safran Foer American novelist
• Jonathan Firth English actor
• (Herbert) Jonathan Cape English publisher
• Jonathan Stark American tennis player
• Jonathan "Jonny" Marray English tennis player
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas American actor
• Jonathan Coulton American singer,songwriter
• Jonathan Stewart American football player
• Jonathan Joel Babineaux American football player
• Jonathan Alan Horton American gymnast
• Jonathan Barnaby Moody son of actor Ron Moody
• Jonathan Kendrick "Johnny" Lewis American actor
• Jonathan Stephen Ross English TV presenter
• Jonathan Francis "Jon" Gries American actor
• Jonathan Stuart Osser American actor
• Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter American actor
• Jonathan Drew Groff American actor
• Jonathan Robert Papelbon American baseball pitcher
• Jonathan Anthony Stroud English novelist
• Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel Canadian actor
• Jonathan Gregory Brandis American actor
• Kenneth George "Jonathan" King English singer and producer
• Jonathan Howsmon Davis lead singer of American band Korn
• Jonathan Smith aka Lil Jon American rapper
• Jonathan Luke Ke Huy Quan American actor
• Jonathan Pryce (born John Price) Welsh actor
• Jonathan Allen Lethem American novelist
• Jonathan Stafford American ballet dancer
• Jonathan Philip Agnew English cricketer and broadcaster
• Jonathan Odell American poet
• Jonathan Lewis Seward birth name of Johnny Christ, bassist of American metal band Avenged Sevenfold
• Jonathan Benjamin "JB" Gill pop singer of English group JLS
• Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan Nigerian politician
• Jonathan Brian Toews Canadian hockey player
• Jonathan Patrick Joly Irish vlogger
• Jonathan Cheban American TV personality
• Jonathan Crombie Canadian actor (Gilbert Blythe on "Anne of Green Gables")
• Jonathan Rosebanks Shulman (b. 2016) son of American actress Anne Hathaway
• Jonathan Van Ness grooming expert on Netflix's Queer Eye
• Jonathan "Jonny" Sims writer and performer on "The Magnus Archives", used to perform with "The Mechanisms"
• Jonathan "JD" Daviss American actor

The name Jonathan in Pop Culture

• Jonathan Alexander (Xander) Emerson main male character in Scarlett Avery’s book “Delectably British”.
• Jonathan Byers character in "Stranger Things"
• Jonathan mythical creature in short story "Out There" by author Justine Avery
• Jonathan "Johnny" DiMarco character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
• Jonathan Christopher "Jace" Herondale character in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
• Jonathan character in flash fiction collection "Teasers & Pleasers: Short,Short Stories to Tickle Your Fancy in All the Right Places" by author Liam Holt
• Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern character in the Mortal Instruments series
• Jonathan Harker character in Bram Stoker's Dracula
• Jonathan of Conte a character in the Tortall series by Tamora Pierce
• Jonathan Kent adoptive father of Superman
• Jonathan "Jon" Kent son of Superman
• Jonathan "Johnny" Storm character in Marvel Universe
• Jonathan Pangborn character in Marvel Universe
• Dr. Jonathan Ohnn aka Spot character in Marvel Universe
• "Jonathan Cleaned Up Then He Heard A Sound" (or Blackberry Subway Jam), children's book by Robert Munsch
• Jonathan "Jono" Van Helsing character on TV's "Young Dracula"
• Jonathan E character in 1975 movie "Rollerball'
• Jonathan "John" Gilbert character in The Vampire Diaries series
• Jonathan Crane aka The Scarecrow villain in the Batman series
• Jonathan "Than" Getslinhaumer character in YouTube series, "The Most Popular Girls in School", who is conflicted about his sexuality
• "Jonathan Livingston Seagull " novel by Richard Bach
• Jonathan assistant on TV's "30 Rock"
• Jonathan Archer captain on TV's "Star Trek: Enterprise"
• Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill character on TV's "Stargate SG,1"
• Jonathan Levinson character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
• "Jonathan " song by Fiona Apple
• Jonathan Phaedrus aka "Prof," character in The Reckoners Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
• Jonathan Strange titular character in Susanna Clarke's novel "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell"
• Jonathan Joestar aka "JoJo," character in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
• Jonathan "Johnny Stein " character in the movie Hotel Transylvania
• Jonathan Creek titular character on BBC's Jonathan Creek
• Jonathan Smith main character in TV series "Highway to Heaven"
• Jonathan "John" Murphy character in "The 100"
• Jonathan Q "Jon" Arbuckle Character in the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis,
• Jonathan Turner unconventional English teacher on TV show "Boy Meets World"
• Jonathan Sims head archivist of the Magnus Institute, London on "The Magnus Archives"