Top 90 US name Boys' name Peak 1988 866,991 births

Jonathan — #83 US boys' name

866,991 babies named Jonathan in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1988. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1921890s1291900s1391910s6601920s10781930s16631940s82971950s258171960s473881970s1079351980s2299591990s1975002000s1448422010s798602020s21532
#83
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.4% of names given to boys today.

1980s
Peak decade

27% of everyone ever named Jonathan was born in this single decade.

1988
Single peak year

24,348 babies were named Jonathan in 1988 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Jonathan

The Social Security Administration has registered 866,991 babies named Jonathan between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Jonathan currently holds the #83 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1988, when 24,348 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Jonathan performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 229,959 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Jonathan shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 121,974 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Jonathan in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Jonathan in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 866,991 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Jonathan at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

866,991

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1988

24,348 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

#83

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Jonathan popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (1988)
24,348
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 18

Jonathan popularity over time — girls

3,570 total births recorded since 1954 (Jonathan as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 3,570 births
-50050100150200 202320142005199619871978196919601954 8

Jonathan by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
229,959 births that decade — 27% of Jonathan's all-time total
1880s1921890s1291900s1391910s6601920s10781930s16631940s82971950s258171960s473881970s1079351980s2299591990s1975002000s1448422010s798602020s21532

Jonathan by state

Where Jonathan concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Jonathan
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
121,974 14.1%
#2 Texas
74,319 8.6%
#3 New York
72,360 8.3%
#4 Florida
42,950 5.0%
#5 Illinois
35,628 4.1%
#6 Pennsylvania
35,061 4.0%
#7 Ohio
29,893 3.4%
#8 North Carolina
29,168 3.4%
California share of Jonathan's total US births 14.1%
Even split

121,974 of 866,991 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Jonathan appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Jonathan?
866,991 babies have been named Jonathan since 1880. It currently ranks #83 among boys. The peak year was 1988 with 24,348 births.
When was Jonathan most popular?
Jonathan was most popular in the 1980s decade with 229,959 total births. The single peak year was 1988.
Where is Jonathan most popular?
The top states for the name Jonathan are California (121,974 births), Texas (74,319 births), New York (72,360 births).
How long has the name Jonathan been used?
Jonathan has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Jonathan?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Jon, Jonah, Jonathon, Jonas, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Jonathan

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.