Jonai
Biblical/Hebrew name meaning "dove" or "he will be a dove".
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Jonai. It is a predominantly female name (96.7% of registrations). The average person named Jonai today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonai births was 1998 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonai. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
1998
16 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,510
Tracked since 1987
Census
Jonai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 195 people with the first name Jonai, which placed it at #38,993 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#38,993
National first-name rank
People counted
195
195 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
77.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jonai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonai is Black at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and White (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jonai described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jonai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.9% · 152
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 18
- White5.6% · 11
- Two or more races4.6% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Jonai
Jonai leans heavily female at 96.7% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jonai as a male name
- Ranked #13,510 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 2008 (5 births)
Jonai as a female name
- Ranked #18,613 in 2009
- 5 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1998 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jonai leans strongly female. 169 people counted with this name were female (83.7%), compared with 33 male bearers (16.3%).
Popularity
Jonai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jonai from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 80 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonai by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jonai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonai
The name Jonai is a unique and intriguing one, with a rich history that spans across various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Semitic languages, particularly Hebrew and Aramaic. In these languages, the root word "yonah" or "yona" means "dove" or "pigeon," symbolizing peace, innocence, and purity.
In the Hebrew Bible, Jonah (Yonah) was the name of a prophet who was famously swallowed by a great fish or whale. This biblical story is a significant part of the Judeo-Christian tradition and has been retold and interpreted in various ways throughout history. The name Jonai is a variation of this biblical name, reflecting its deep-rooted connection to the religious and cultural narratives of the region.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jonai can be found in the ancient Aramaic inscriptions from the 6th century BCE. These inscriptions were discovered in the city of Elephantine, located in modern-day Egypt. Here, the name Jonai was listed as one of the names of Jewish settlers in the region, suggesting its widespread usage among the Jewish diaspora communities of that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jonai. One such person was Jonai ben Avraham, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and scholar from Cordoba, Spain. His works on theology and ethics significantly influenced the intellectual discourse of his time. Another prominent figure was Jonai ibn Janah, a renowned 11th-century Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer from Cordoba, whose contributions to the study of the Hebrew language were invaluable.
In the realm of literature, Jonai ben Ishak, a 13th-century Jewish writer from Provence, France, is known for his philosophical and poetic works. His writings shed light on the cultural and intellectual milieu of medieval European Jewry. Additionally, Jonai ben Yaakov, a 14th-century Jewish scholar and kabbalist from Spain, left a lasting impact on the development of Jewish mystical thought.
Moving into the modern era, Jonai Raphaelson was an American screenwriter and playwright born in 1903. He is best known for his screenplay adaptations of several literary works, including Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape" and John Steinbeck's "The Moon Is Down."
While the name Jonai may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and connections to various cultures and traditions make it a fascinating and meaningful name. Its origins in ancient languages and its associations with religious narratives and influential figures add depth and significance to this unique moniker.
People
Jonai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jonai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonai going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Jonai a common name?
We classify Jonai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 152 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonai most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonai was 1998, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonai is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jonai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 195 people with the name Jonai, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,993 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jonai in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jonai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jonai leans strongly female. 169 people counted with this name were female (83.7%), compared with 33 male bearers (16.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jonai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonai is Black at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and White (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jonai most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jonai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.9% (152 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jonai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jonai a female name?
Yes, 96.7% of people registered as Jonai in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jonai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jonai in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jonai can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Jonai as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Jonai on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.