Jonatan
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh has given" or "Gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 3,615 living Americans carry the first name Jonatan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jonatan today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jonatan births was 2006 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jonatan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jonatan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.6K
~ 1 in 94,814 Americans
Peak year
2006
159 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,347
Tracked since 1971
Census
Jonatan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,393 people with the first name Jonatan, which placed it at #4,312 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
#4,312
National first-name rank
People counted
4.4K
4,393 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jonatan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonatan is Hispanic at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Jonatan 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 Jonatan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.8% · 3,945
- White7.8% · 341
- Black or African American1.7% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 23
- Two or more races0.2% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Popularity
Jonatan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jonatan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,448 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jonatan 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 Jonatan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jonatans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Jonatan, while Pennsylvania, Oregon, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 128 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jonatan
The name Jonatan is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Jonathan, derived from the roots Jonatan or Yonatan. It is a biblical name meaning "Yahweh has given" or "gift of God." The name's origins can be traced back to the ancient Israelites and the Old Testament.
The earliest known bearer of this name was Jonathan, the son of King Saul and a close friend of David in the Hebrew Bible. Jonathan played a crucial role in the transition of power from Saul to David, and his unwavering loyalty to David is celebrated in the biblical narrative.
In the Middle Ages, the name Jonatan gained popularity among Jewish communities across Europe. One notable figure was Jonatan ben David Ha-Cohen, a 12th-century French rabbi and scholar who wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy.
During the Renaissance period, the name Jonatan was adopted by Christians, particularly in England and other parts of Europe. One of the earliest recorded examples is Jonatan Swift, the father of the renowned author Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), best known for his satirical works, including Gulliver's Travels.
In the 17th century, Jonatan Brewster (1593-1659) was a prominent figure among the Puritan settlers in colonial America. He served as an elder in the Plymouth Colony and played a significant role in the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Jonatan Trumbull (1710-1785), a merchant and statesman who served as the Governor of Connecticut during the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend and advisor to George Washington and played a crucial role in supporting the Continental Army.
In the 19th century, Jonatan Jonasson (1819-1898) was a Swedish theologian and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of the Old Testament and biblical languages. His works were widely influential in shaping the field of biblical studies in Scandinavia.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who bore the name Jonatan, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Jonatan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonatan 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
Jonatan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonatan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,615 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jonatan 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 94,814 US residents.
Is Jonatan a common name?
We classify Jonatan as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,677 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jonatan most popular?
The single biggest year for Jonatan was 2006, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jonatan is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jonatan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,393 people with the name Jonatan, or 1.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,312 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 Jonatan 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 Jonatan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jonatan appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,401 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Jonatan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jonatan is Hispanic at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Jonatan most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jonatan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (3,945 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 Jonatan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jonatan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jonatan in the SSA data are male. 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 Jonatan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jonatan 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 Jonatan 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 share the name Jonatan?
You can see how many people share the name Jonatan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.