Jonah

boys’ nameAt its peakCompare

Jonah is ranked 126th among boys in 2024 (2,879 births). Its best rank was 124th, in 2023.

Rank in 2024: #126down 2 from 2023
Births in 2024: 2,8790.17% of boys
Peak year: 20082,981 births
Best rank: #124in 2023
Since 1880: 82,424people given the name

Babies named Jonah, by year of birthboys

The story in the numbers

82,424 boys have been named Jonah in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2008, with 2,981 births — 0.15% of all boys recorded that year.

It has never been more used than now: its record year is 2008, within the last few years of data.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 2010, and the 2010s alone account for 34%. It has spent 74 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

Rank among boys, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)

By decade

Decade	boys named Jonah
1880s	79
1890s	65
1900s	71
1910s	222
1920s	329
1930s	252
1940s	249
1950s	298
1960s	304
1970s	1,767
1980s	2,891
1990s	10,073
2000s	23,696
2010s	28,051
2020s	14,077

In 2008, its biggest year

Jonah was the 136th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 2008 were Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel. See all of 2008.

Names that rose and fell with Jonah

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.