How Many People Are Named Jonathan?
An estimated 824,779 people in the United States have the first name Jonathan, ranking it #38 among all first names. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 35 years old, and Jonathan peaked in popularity in 1988 with 24,512 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Eric (815,564).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Jonathan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Jonathan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Jonathan is overwhelmingly male, 3,570 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
824,779
About 1 in 416 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
35
years old
Peak Year
1988
24,512 births
Total Registered
870,561
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Jonathan
Jonathan is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 870,561 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Jonathan as a male name
Ranked #83 in 2024
4,018 male births in 2024
Peak: 1988 (24,348 births)
Jonathan as a female name
Ranked #14,199 in 2023
6 female births in 2023
Peak: 1984 (183 births)
Jonathan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Jonathan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 231,543 babies were registered. Jonathan has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Jonathan by Decade
How has Jonathan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 192 | 192 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 129 | 129 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 139 | 139 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 660 | 660 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 1,078 | 1,078 | 0 | |
| 1930s | 1,663 | 1,663 | 0 | |
| 1940s | 8,297 | 8,297 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 25,870 | 25,817 | 53 | |
| 1960s | 47,577 | 47,388 | 189 | |
| 1970s | 108,570 | 107,935 | 635 | |
| 1980s | 231,543 | 229,959 | 1,584 | |
| 1990s | 198,126 | 197,500 | 626 | |
| 2000s | 145,184 | 144,842 | 342 | |
| 2010s | 79,973 | 79,860 | 113 | |
| 2020s | 21,560 | 21,532 | 28 | |
Jonathan by State
Birth registrations for Jonathan span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, South Dakota. On average, about 16,986 Jonathans were registered per state.
Jonathan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Jonathan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Jonathan
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Jonathan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jonathan?
We estimate approximately 824,779 people named Jonathan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 416 Americans share this first name.
Is Jonathan a common name?
Jonathan is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 870,561 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Jonathan most popular?
Jonathan reached peak popularity in 1988, when 24,512 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Jonathan is approximately 35 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Jonathan a male name?
Jonathan is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Jonathan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Jonathan Smith, Jonathan Johnson, Jonathan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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