He conjures up images of whales, but there’s much more to this increasingly popular choice.
Thanks to Annelise for suggesting Jonah as Name of the Day.
My picture of Jonah is a devout soul, holding a candle inside the cavernous interior of a whale. It’s part Old Testament, part Finding Nemo.
It’s also flawed.
Jonah was a goat – a scapegoat, that is. When his ship was caught in a terrific storm, the sailors decided that lobbing one of their number overboard was the best course of action. Jonah drew the short straw.
Only he deserved it – Jonah had boarded the ship to flee a commandment from God, and the storm was a punishment. After his dunking and three days’ journey in the belly of something ocean-going, he agreed to fulfill God’s orders. (For a while, anyhow.)
There’s a raging etymological and even zoological debate about Jonah’s whale. Some translations tell us that a “giant fish” or even a “sea monster” did the swallowing.
As for his given name, it comes the Hebrew Yonah, meaning dove or pigeon. It became Ionas in Greek, later evolved to Jonas and eventually lost the -s sound again.
The menagerie aspect tempers what could otherwise be a heavily religious name. Jonah’s three days at sea are said to presage Jesus’ three days between death and resurrection.
The Biblical story has always been popular, but the name was once considered unlucky – and usually avoided. Sailors’ references to Davy Jones are thought to derive from the phrase “Devil Jonah.”
By the nineteenth century, Jonah had gained in use, but then faded. In 1970, he reentered the US Top 1000 at #960, then leapt to #650.
In 1992, he was still hovering in the 600s when Sleepless in Seattle hit the big screen. Jonah Baldwin was Tom Hanks’ matchmaking son in the movie. By 1993, the name had climbed to #469; two years after the film’s release, Jonah ranked #245.
He’s still climbing, fitting right in with current favorites Noah, Elijah and Isaiah.
A sampling of notable Jonahs includes:
- In the 2002 Veggie Tales version of Jonah’s story, the sailor is played by an asparagus;
- Comedic actor Jonah Hill is known for his roles in Knocked Up and Superbad;
- Jonah Tali Lomu of New Zealand is an International Rugby Hall of Fame member;
- DC Comics character Jonah Hex is a not-quite-hero cowboy-soldier adventurer. He debuted in the 1970s, and while he has never been well-known, a big screen adaptation of his story is slated for a 2010 release.
As of 2007, Jonah ranked #165. Besides his Biblical cred and silver screen ties, the letter J continues to dominate boys’ names, from the classic James to the trendy Jayden. It is easy to imagine Jonah following Noah straight to the Top Ten.
Danielle says
December 7, 2013 at 1:04 AMThis is one of my favorite names. I would totally use it.
almk says
January 4, 2012 at 5:35 PMJust found your blog and looked up this post. I have a Jonas who turned a year old last month. I’ve loved the name since I was a girl and read the book ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry. I also liked that it’s a top 10 name in Germany right now (my mom’s family is German) and has the not-so-overt Biblical connection. I’ve only ever had two people mention the Jonas Brother connection, and I was wondering if people still had an adverse reaction to the name three years out from this post.
SophieGray says
March 9, 2009 at 3:01 AM🙂 Caitlin’s right, you should watch it. I love how politically incorrect it is!!
Caitlin – my cousin was in Year 12 last year and she actually got to STUDY Summer Heights High as part of her English curriculum? As much as I love Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice – Summer Heights High just sounds SO much better to study!
Caitlin B says
March 9, 2009 at 12:31 AMI think you MUST watch Summer Heights High. It is Australian, although I’m not! I’m a New Yorker. I watched the first season on HBO after Entourage. I couldn’t get enough. Jonah’s one of the best character’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. I think I heard there’s a second season, but I don’t know if HBO has aired/will be airing it.
appellationmountain says
March 7, 2009 at 5:46 PMAgh, why did I cancel HBO? Oh right … to get Sprout and Noggin. Oh well, guess I’ll wait for the DVDs on Netflix.
SophieGray says
March 6, 2009 at 1:53 PMCaitlin, are you Australian by any chance? Summer Heights High 🙂 Bahaha I love it! It’s a little comedy in which one guy (Chris Lilley) plays all three of the title characters: Mr.G- an overenthusiastic and politically incorrect drama teacher; J’Amie (like Jzah-MAY) King- a stereotypical private school snob on exchange at a public school; and Jonah Takulua- a disruptive Tongan student. It’s quite amusing 🙂
ANYWAY, that is all Jonah reminds me of, that and the Jonas Brothers, and that actor from Knocked Up. So the name’s out for me. I’ve never really been fond of it though, ont for any reason.
Nessa says
March 6, 2009 at 12:38 AMVerity, Summer Heights High is on HBO… I’ve only seen a few minutes of it, but it’s supposed to be hilarious.
Bek says
March 5, 2009 at 7:25 PMI like Jonah, I don’t love it, but I like it. A few years ago, this name definitely would have ranked high on my list. Now… Well, I just find it a bit blah I guess. Handsome, strong, Biblical… but not WOW to me.
photoquilty says
March 5, 2009 at 3:00 PMHey, Verity, this reminds me that I’ve been digging Joan as a middle name. How about exploring the somewhat staid Joan?
appellationmountain says
March 5, 2009 at 6:45 PMJNE, I know what you mean about the Jonas Bros. connection. (And I can’t even believe that I can name all three Jonas Bros. And that someday I will inevitably have to take my daughter to the next generation Jonas Bros. equivalent concert whilst the original JBs are filming their E!TrueHollywoodWhereAreTheyNowThirdReunion Special.)
And Nessa, I agree that Jonah Hill boosts the name for me!
My dear husband Arthur was almost Jonah! (Or Elliot. Or Patrick. I think Arthur suits him best.) So this one is always of interest to me. My brother-in-law could’ve pulled off Jonah, but he’s Christian instead.
Caitlin, I came across a reference to Summer Heights, but I’ve never seen it! Is it Australian? Should I be attempting to watch it online somewhere?
As for Joan, I’ve been thinking about Joan a lot lately, too. (And Photoqulity, dissent is a good thing!) I wonder if Joan is to Jane as Maud is to Matilda … Anyhow, she’ll be NotD on 5/4.
Nessa says
March 5, 2009 at 2:39 PMI like Jonah. Mostly it makes me think of Jonah Hill, and I think he’s hilarious. I thought about using this for a while, it’s too religious for me, though. But I do like it a lot.
rockingfetal says
March 5, 2009 at 4:40 AMI really like Jonah. I don’t think it sounds extremely religious, though I do like those names as well. Jonah’s rank is high enough that I believe it has most likely surpassed a strong Jewish association, much like Isaac. Ethan and Joshua were predominately Jewish at one point.
Caitlin B says
March 5, 2009 at 4:08 AMI don’t quite like Jonah. John, James, Joseph. I think those are the only male J names I like (actually I absolutely love all three). I don’t really know why, but most of the others sort of turn me off. Jeremy, Jason, Jacob, Jonathan, Joshua, &c. I feel like they’re all troublemakers, like they’re hiding something. I know that’s not entirely fair, but I’m a stereotyper!
One more namesake: Jonah Takalua of Summer Heights High fame! Love that show.
Rachel says
March 5, 2009 at 2:05 AMI quite like both Jonah and Jonas!
JNE says
March 5, 2009 at 1:30 AMJonah is OK. It kind of makes me think of the Jonas Brothers, which is not really the kind of association I go for. But overall, it’s an alright name – I definitely would not mind meeting a little Jonah.
Lola says
March 5, 2009 at 12:42 AMNot always, Photoquilty, dear. 🙂 We agree where it really counts, generally. And let’s face it, if everyone liked every name, it would be a weird world indeed! Dissention is a good thing, I swear! (The USA wouldn’t exist without Dissention!)
photoquilty says
March 4, 2009 at 10:44 PMJonah’s another one that fits with Ezra and those other Jewish sounding names. I’d prefer to get the similar sound from Jonathan.
My cousin is an American lving in Germany, with a German wife. They had a baby girl and named her Jona. I think this is similar to Noa. I’ve gotten used to it and have to say that I definitely like what they did; I like Jona for a girl, but heartily dislike Jonah for a boy. Jonas is evern worse, in my opinion.
(Am I always the voice of dissent?)
Heather says
March 21, 2012 at 10:02 AMall those *Jewish* sounding names! We discount Jewish names? In favor of?
Lola says
March 4, 2009 at 9:20 PMJonah’s cool.
I always thought God was pretty unfair to poor Jonah, locking him up ’til he agreed to do what God wanted. Really turned me off the dude for a long while. But then, that was the thinking of a not quite 6 year old and it took a bit more than that to turn me off completely.
Jonah’s really nice, actually. Handsome, soft but not weak and an easy sound. But then, I’ve been a sucker for Jo- names all my life. My first love is a 47 year old Joey (well, Joe to everyone else, Joey to me). Yes, we still talk. 🙂
Jonah’s got a breezy style that really feels current. Icould see him catching on and for me, that would be lovely. I’m really tired of Jacob (and please, no more Jake!). I signed Josie up for school this morning and actually ran into a small handful of kid she’ll be going to school with; Ria (girl), The Byron I’m always mentioning, a George, and a Jonas. Which rather surprised me, little Spanish looking Jonas. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the related Jonah today!
I do like him, perhaps not enough to use him myself but he hangs around on my “I really like these” lists! Jonah gets a solid & enthusiastic :thumbsup: from me. Jonah’s aces! 😀