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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201988peak #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 1988

girls
#999
164 births · 1 in 10,859 girls
boys
#15
24,349 births · 1 in 79 boys

Top girls' names in 1988

  1. #1Jessica51,556
  2. #2Ashley49,977
  3. #3Amanda39,459
  4. #4Sarah28,374
  5. #5Jennifer27,893
  6. #6Brittany26,816
  7. #7Stephanie22,843
  8. #8Samantha20,700
  9. #9Nicole20,315
  10. #10Elizabeth20,042
  11. #999Jonathan164

Top boys' names in 1988

  1. #1Michael64,171
  2. #2Christopher53,014
  3. #3Matthew45,876
  4. #4Joshua42,653
  5. #5Andrew35,745
  6. #6David35,329
  7. #7Justin35,055
  8. #8Daniel34,718
  9. #9James32,523
  10. #10Robert30,319
  11. #15Jonathan24,349
More about 1988

girls

1,780,854 girls got a published name in 1988; 1 in 10,859 of them was named Jonathan, which outranked 92.8% of the 13,883 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. #996Brittnie165
  2. #996Eric165
  3. #996Kaitlynn165
  4. #999Jonathan164
  5. #999Corinna164
  6. #999Flor164
  7. #999Kacy164
  8. #1,003Chana163
  9. #1,003Francine163
  10. #1,003Maricruz163

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1987
Risers
  1. 2,890Jalissa#3,857#967
  2. 2,381Taja#3,101#720
  3. 1,710Whitley#2,156#446
  4. 1,225Jalisa#1,662#437
  5. 883Jaleesa#1,227#344
Fallers
  1. 620Channing#590#1,210
  2. 346Denisse#954#1,300
  3. 319Jeana#966#1,285
  4. 314Eliana#826#1,140
  5. 311Nakia#893#1,204

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

boys

1,914,283 boys got a published name in 1988; 1 in 79 of them was named Jonathan, which outranked 99.8% of the 8,495 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 21.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Jonathan
  1. #12Joseph29,019
  2. #13Ryan27,747
  3. #14Nicholas25,303
  4. #15Jonathan24,349
  5. #16William24,126
  6. #17Brandon23,744
  7. #18Anthony23,644
Biggest movers since 1987
Risers
  1. 3,252Nico#4,239#987
  2. 1,245Ridge#2,215#970
  3. 668Colten#1,484#816
  4. 600Brantley#1,587#987
  5. 518Long#1,337#819
Fallers
  1. 362Cordaro#908#1,270
  2. 246Ramsey#884#1,130
  3. 241Yaakov#974#1,215
  4. 233Adrain#990#1,223
  5. 230Kiel#846#1,076

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

See the top 100 for 1988