MEANING & HISTORY
What does Jonathan mean?
Jonathan continues Hebrew Yehonatan and its contracted form Yonatan. The name combines a reference to Yahweh with the Hebrew root for giving, producing the sentence Yahweh has given.
The biblical Jonathan, son of Saul and friend of David, belongs to this tradition. Jonathan is not an expansion made by adding Nathan to John in English: its complete Hebrew formation precedes those modern English spellings.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
English
- /ˈd͡ʒɒnəθən/Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈd͡ʒɑnəθən/General-American · dialectal · of Canada
- /ˈd͡ʒɒnəθɪn/Canada · dialectal · of the US
- /ˈd͡ʒɔnəθɪn/Australia
Jon · a · than3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Spanish
- /ˈʝonatan/
- [ˈɟ͡ʝo.na.t̪ãn]
- /ˈʃonatan/
- [ˈʃo.na.t̪ãn]
- /ˈʒonatan/
- [ˈʒo.na.t̪ãn]
Jo · na · than3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Hebrew יְהוֹנָתָן (yəhōnāṯān), יוֹנָתָן (yōnāṯān, literally “God has given”), apparently with influence from Aramaic [Term?].
A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
Wiktionary: Jonathan (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Unadapted borrowing from English Jonathan.
a male given name from English [in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Jonathan
Wiktionary: Jonathan (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Jonathan
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Jonathan Malaya
Filipino writer and public official
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Jonathan Uyloan
Filipino-American basketball player
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
21
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
10
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Jonathan Uyloan, Jonathan Malaya
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Jonathan in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Jonathan
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Nathan♂He gave
- Johan♂God is gracious; a John-family form
- Jonah♂♀Dove
- Jonalyn♀Blend of Jonah and Lyn
- Ethan♂Firm, enduring
- Gohan♂Modern Gohan, associated with Japanese cooked rice
- Jo-Ann·Variant of Joanne, in the John-name family
- Joachim♂May God raise up
What rhymes with Jonathan?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Recorded combinations with Jonathan
4 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Bernard Jonathan·Source record
- Jonathan Felipe·Source record
- Jonathan Gary·Source record
- Jonathan Justo·Source record
Explore Jonathan further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q1158394 — Jonathan (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Jonathan Uyloan (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1158394 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Jonathan Malaya (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1158394 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jonathan (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jonathan (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Jonathan (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.