Jonah

Hebrew

"dove"

Jonah Origin and Meaning

The name Jonah is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "dove".

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.

Jonah Rank in US Top 1000

# 124 in the US

Jonah Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 112 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Jonah

• 124 US 2023
• 112 Nameberry 2025
• 160 Canada 2023
• 28 Future 2035
• 134 England 2023
• 177 Scotland 2023
• 25 Germany 2024
• 92 Netherlands 2023
• 175 Switzerland 2023

20 Names Similar to Jonah

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

• Maxwell
• Elliott
• Micah
• Wesley
• Isaac
• Eli
• Colin
• Evan
• Julian
• Spencer
• Seth
• Harrison
• Miles
• Calvin
• Caleb
• Gavin
• Josiah
• Judah
• Levi
• Elliot

Famous People Named Jonah

• 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

The name 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"