US Name Trends

Jonathan

Hebrew Yehonatan, “Yahweh has given.”

1988peak year
No. 15best rank (1988)
874,440babies since 1880
No. 89rank in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Jonathan per year — peak 24,349▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Jonathan appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1962 to 2025. Its biggest year was 1988, when 24,349 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 15 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 89 for boys. All told, 874,440 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Johnathan (98,611), Jonathon (65,836), Johnathon (25,652), Jonathen (1,507), Johnathen (1,357), Jonnathan (1,238) (total births since 1880)

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s192No. 307
1890s129No. 458
1900s139No. 440
1910s660No. 569
1920s1,078No. 572
1930s1,663No. 318
1940s8,296No. 164
1950s25,816No. 114
1960s47,389No. 46
1970s107,926No. 28
1980s229,953No. 15
1990s197,503No. 17
2000s144,848No. 19
2010s79,888No. 28
2020s25,386No. 70

Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.