ninan.org

Jonathan

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~821,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#89 among boys
Births in 2025
3,827 874,440 since 1880
Typical age
34 years, median

Jonathan popularity over time

Jonathan rank by birth year, 1880–2025Jonathan ranked #403 in 1880 and #89 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #15, in 1988.#100#1,000#89best #15 in 198818901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Jonathan was used most in 1988, when 24,513 babies were given the name. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Across the record, 64 years put Jonathan in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #89 with 3,827 births. The ten-year change is -50%.

Babies named Jonathan per yearPeaks at 24,513 births in 1988.24,513 in 1988018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Jonathan?

Roughly 821,100 Jonathans are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 874,440 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Jonathan?

The typical living Jonathan is 34 years old. More of them were born in the 1980s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Jonathan a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Jonathan

Ages of living people named JonathanHalf of living Jonathans are older than 34 and half younger.median 34020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Jonathan is most common

Relative to births, Rhode Island carries 2.1× the national share of Jonathans. Delaware, Alaska and District of Columbia follow.

Where Jonathan is used more than average5 states use the name Jonathan more than the national average.Alaska: 1.8× the national rateAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: 1.5× the national rateNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: 2.1× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 1.8× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 1.6× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Jonathan is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Rhode Island 183 2.1×
Delaware 148 1.8×
Alaska 121 1.8×
District of Columbia 151 1.6×
Nevada 498 1.5×

Jonathan in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Jonathan ranked #296 in 2025 on 153 births. That is 20% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Jonathan comes from

Borrowed from Hebrew יְהוֹנָתָן, יוֹנָתָן, apparently with influence from Aramaic.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Jonathan

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Jonathan Swift Anglo-Irish satirist and essayist 1667–1745 162
Jonathan Winters American comedian, actor, artist 1925–2013 74
Jonathan Demme American filmmaker 1944–2017 66
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Irish actor 1977 54
Jonathan Tah German footballer 1996 53
Jonathan Banks American actor 1947 50
Jonathan Franzen American writer 1959 49
Jonathan Pryce Welsh actor 1947 48
Photo credits (5)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 359 in 1941 to 553 in 1942 — 1.5 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/jonathan.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).