Jonathan is a name of Hebrew origin, meaning "gift from God." It is derived from the Hebrew name Yonaton, which is composed of the elements yona ("dove") and tedaki ("given"). The name Jonathan has been used for centuries, with its first notable appearance in the Old Testament of the Bible. There, Jonathan is the son of King Saul and the best friend of King David. Throughout history, several figures have borne this name, including Jonathan Swift, an Irish writer known for his satirical novel "Gulliver's Travels." In more recent times, Jonathan has been used as a given name in various cultures around the world.
Based on the provided statistics, we can observe several trends regarding the prevalence of the name Jonathan in the United States over time.
From 1912 to 1937, there were consistently low numbers of births with the name Jonathan, ranging from 5 to 10 births per year. However, starting in 1938, we see a significant increase in the number of babies named Jonathan each year.
The peak popularity for the name Jonathan occurred between 1962 and 1979, with over 1,000 births per year recorded during this period. The highest year was 1980, with an impressive 1,429 births. This trend continued into the late 1980s and early 1990s, with numbers hovering around or above the 2,000 mark each year.
However, beginning in the mid-1990s, we observe a steady decline in the number of newborn boys named Jonathan. By 2005, there were fewer than 1,000 births per year, and this trend continued into the 2010s. The most recent data from 2023 shows that only 134 babies were named Jonathan at birth in the United States.
In total, over the entire period from 1912 to 2023, there have been 65,380 births of children named Jonathan in the United States. This name has clearly had its ups and downs in popularity throughout the decades but remains a classic choice for parents nonetheless.