Jonathan

#14,942 for girls in 2025, 5 births · #89 for boys in 2025, 3,822 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1988 · 24,349 births
Debut · boys
18 births
In top 100 · boys
64 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
870,866
since 1880

Jonathan over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201981peak #15, 1988boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#14,9425#893,822
2024#834,028
2023#13,4626#824,094
2022#11,2318#794,220
2021#15,2515#774,465
2020#10,2509#704,757
2019#13,7996#645,470
2018#12,4647#635,779
2017#14,1246#556,534
2016#7,23016#566,982
2015#9,48111#487,660
2014#10,12910#448,120
2013#9,03612#408,577
2012#10,42910#349,372
2011#6,14821#3110,254
2010#8,27114#2811,140
2009#8,45414#2911,386
2008#7,07318#2612,905
2007#5,70924#2313,809
2006#5,08627#2214,387
2005#4,82827#1914,443
2004#2,26477#2114,375
2003#4,10932#2214,994
2002#3,73035#2115,514
2001#3,41739#2316,147
2000#2,90349#2116,888
1999#3,31338#2217,068
1998#3,30137#2117,649
1997#2,82043#2118,542
1996#2,17762#2118,602
1995#2,34556#2318,155
1994#1,86276#2319,068
1993#1,96771#2219,954
1992#2,10564#2121,413
1991#1,68987#2022,975
1990#1,61792#1724,077
1989#1,454101#1723,608
1988#999164#1524,349
1987#924179#1823,119
1986#922174#1623,973
1985#884181#1724,116
1984#841183#1923,345
1983#860177#1922,756
1982#900168#1623,113
1981#964152#1622,588
1980#1,250104#2118,986
1979#1,48280#3114,331
1978#1,42281#3112,514
1977#1,38081#2812,319
1976#1,31682#3111,314
1975#1,71355#3010,904
1974#1,53263#3310,230
1973#1,49663#3110,273
1972#1,72451#379,219
1971#1,93744#408,628
1970#2,24035#428,194
1969#2,29631#467,080
1968#2,63023#535,808
1967#2,78120#564,920
1966#2,75220#654,662
1965#3,26415#744,723
1964#2,91519#834,644
1963#3,17616#884,471
1962#3,43814#944,253
1961#2,75220#1123,485
1960#3,92011#1183,343
1959#4,3009#1243,082
1958#4,8907#1243,084
1957#3,48912#1243,048
1956#5,3256#1143,124
1955#3,57111#1163,025
1954#4,2788#1212,743
1953#1332,335
1952#1392,062
1951#1471,775
1950#1631,538
1949#1641,431
1948#1731,282
1947#1771,198
1946#1731,102
1945#179881
1944#217639
1943#245575
1942#243553
1941#303359
1940#342276
1939#318295
1938#363235
1937#395197
1936#427172
1935#435167
1934#496133
1933#500126
1932#540118
1931#539117
1930#599103
1929#64491
1928#577115
1927#597108
1926#608106
1925#588114
1924#65397
1923#65297
1922#597117
1921#572122
1920#592111
1919#72077
1918#68483
1917#60796
1916#574100
1915#63783
1914#56977
1913#60453
1912#58448
1911#62424
1910#67719
1909#71415
1908#77912
1907#81511
1906#70912
1905#63614
1904#61214
1903#48719
1902#44022
1901#7279
1900#78511
1899#7868
1898#61113
1897#51515
1896#48118
1895#7389
1894#50216
1893#7059
1892#57213
1891#52412
1890#45816
1889#54912
1888#46417
1887#58310
1886#40319
1885#30730
1884#38621
1883#43317
1882#33227
1881#36021
1880#40318
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Jonathan was already there! It came in at #403, and was given to 18 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1899–1901, when fewer than 12 boys a year got the name.

See more about Jonathan
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 6 spots since 2024 (#83#89)
  • 19 spots since 2020 (#70#89)
  • 41 spots since 2015 (#48#89)
  • Biggest jump: 287 spots in 1902 (#727#440)
  • Biggest drop: 236 spots in 1895 (#502#738)
Rise & fade · boys
108 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1988 at #15 (24,349 births)
  • Births halved by 2009, 21 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 64 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 64 yrs · run 1962–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 77
  • Highest: 1 in 77 boys born in 1985 were named Jonathan (1.3%)
  • Latest: 1 in 447 boys born in 2025 (0.22%)
  • Its best rank, #15 in 1988, was only 1 in 79 (1.3%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1980s
  • 26.4% of all boys named Jonathan (229,953) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s192#307 (1885)#422
1890s129#458 (1890)#589
1900s139#440 (1902)#670
1910s660#569 (1914)#628
1920s1,078#572 (1921)#608
1930s1,663#318 (1939)#461
1940s8,296#164 (1949)#222
1950s25,816#114 (1956)#131
1960s47,389#46 (1969)#79
1970s107,926#28 (1977)#33
1980s229,953#15 (1988)#17
1990s197,503#17 (1990)#21
2000s144,848#19 (2005)#23
2010s79,888#28 (2010)#46
2020s25,386#70 (2020)#80

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Jonathan in 1981

girls
#964
152 births · 1 in 10,974 girls
boys
#16
22,588 births · 1 in 79 boys

Top girls' names in 1981

  1. #1Jennifer57,046
  2. #2Jessica42,531
  3. #3Amanda34,372
  4. #4Sarah28,175
  5. #5Melissa28,005
  6. #6Amy20,345
  7. #7Nicole20,310
  8. #8Stephanie20,212
  9. #9Elizabeth20,168
  10. #10Heather17,946
  11. #964Jonathan152

Top boys' names in 1981

  1. #1Michael68,750
  2. #2Christopher50,221
  3. #3Matthew43,330
  4. #4Jason41,927
  5. #5David40,629
  6. #6Joshua39,024
  7. #7James38,283
  8. #8John34,868
  9. #9Robert34,395
  10. #10Daniel30,985
  11. #16Jonathan22,588
More about 1981

girls

1,668,060 girls got a published name in 1981; 1 in 10,974 of them was named Jonathan, which outranked 92.1% of the 12,198 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Jonathan
  1. #955Gwen153
  2. #955Kandace153
  3. #955Trista153
  4. #964Jonathan152
  5. #964Katelyn152
  6. #964Leona152
  7. #964Renita152
  8. #971Adria151
  9. #971Katina151
  10. #971Malia151

Tied with 6 names at #964; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1980
Risers
  1. 3,850Tashina#4,743#893
  2. 2,742Krystle#3,215#473
  3. 1,800Tierra#2,342#542
  4. 1,398Martine#2,189#791
  5. 999Nereida#1,981#982
Fallers
  1. 764Kylene#990#1,754
  2. 607Renada#708#1,315
  3. 560Ashanti#822#1,382
  4. 399Renata#336#735
  5. 395Tracee#959#1,354

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,791,177 boys got a published name in 1981; 1 in 79 of them was named Jonathan, which outranked 99.8% of the 7,289 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Jonathan
  1. #13Ryan26,811
  2. #14Brian26,583
  3. #15William24,798
  4. #16Jonathan22,588
  5. #17Eric20,712
  6. #18Andrew20,232
  7. #19Brandon20,206
Biggest movers since 1980
Risers
  1. 1,321Marchello#2,162#841
  2. 1,104Skylar#2,058#954
  3. 816Kellen#1,432#616
  4. 499Marcello#1,291#792
  5. 456Tyrel#1,089#633
Fallers
  1. 306Kenyatta#871#1,177
  2. 284Seneca#718#1,002
  3. 247Kimberly#989#1,236
  4. 216Chadd#927#1,143
  5. 214Levar#911#1,125

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1981