Jonas (name)

Jonas is a common male name in many Western world countries and Northeast Africa. It is primarily used as a first name, but also occurs as a surname. It is particularly frequent in Germany, Israel, Ethiopia, the Netherlands, Flanders and Scandinavia. It is also the most common name in Lithuania; however, in Lithuania, the name Jonas is derived from the Hebrew Yohanan as opposed to Jonah.

Its widespread use and popularity has roots in its Jewish and Christian origins. As a surname, it is often Jewish, whilst as a first name it is mostly used in countries where Christianity is the main religion, especially in Scandinavian countries, Celtic countries, and Germany. In Turkish, Arabic, Persian and the Muslim world the equivalent name is Yunus (یونس) or Yunas or Younes/Younis. In North America the name found popularity among Métis and Aboriginals in the Northwest.

Etymology
Jonas most often represents Hebrew יוֹנָה (Yōnā) meaning 'dove', the name of multiple Biblical figures. The form Jonah is taken directly from Hebrew, while the form with s is adapted through Greek.

Greek Ίωνας (Ionas) may also mean "Ionian", a member of the Greek tribe Ιωνες Iones who colonized western Asia.

Notable people with the given name Jonas

 * Jonas, father of Simon Peter; written as "John" or "Jonah" in some translations of the Bible.
 * Jonas Aidoo (born 2002), American basketball player
 * Jonas Åkerlund, Swedish movie and music video director
 * Jonas Erik Altberg aka Basshunter (born 1984), Swedish producer and DJ
 * Jonas Armstrong, British/Irish actor
 * Jonas Arnell-Szurkos, Research Officer, Expert on Orders
 * Jonas Basanavičius, an activist and a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania
 * Jonas Bergstedt, Danish basketball player
 * Jonas Biliūnas, Lithuanian short story writer
 * Jonas Bjerre, lead singer and guitarist of Danish band Mew
 * Jonas Björkman, Swedish tennis player
 * Jonas Bondi, German-American rabbi and newspaper editor
 * Jonas Bronck, American colonist after whom the Bronx River, and by extension, the county and New York City borough of The Bronx are named
 * Jonas Deichmann, German adventurer, ultra-endurance athlete and multiple world record holder.
 * Jonas Eriksson, several people
 * Jonas Folger, German motorbike racer
 * Jonas Galusha, American politician and 5th governor of Vermont
 * Jonas Gardell, Swedish writer and comedian
 * Jonas Green, Colonial American newspaper publisher
 * Jonas Griffith (born 1997), American football player
 * Jonas Grof, German basketball player
 * Jonas Gunnarsson, several people
 * Jonas Gustavsson, NHL goaltender
 * Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentine footballer
 * Jonas Haggren, Swedish Navy rear admiral
 * Jónas Hallgrímsson, Icelandic poet, author and naturalist
 * Jonas Hector, German footballer
 * Jonas Hellborg, Swedish bass player
 * Jonas Hiller, Swiss NHL goaltender
 * Jonas Höglund, NHL hockey player
 * Jonas Jablonskis, Lithuanian language linguist and modifier of the standard Lithuanian language
 * Jonas Jarlsby, Guitarist of the Swedish metal band "Avatar"
 * Jonas Jennings, American professional football player
 * Jonas Jerebko, Swedish NBA basketball player
 * Jonas Kaufmann, German opera singer
 * Jonas Kyratzes, writer and game designer
 * Jonas Lund, Swedish conceptual artist
 * Jonas Mačiulis aka MDansaironis, Lithuanian writer and poet
 * Jonas Mačiulis, a Lithuanian basketball player
 * Jonas Mekas, Lithuanian film maker
 * Jonas of Orléans (760–841), Bishop of Orléans
 * Jonas Gonçalves Oliveira, Brazilian international footballer
 * Jonas Phillips, Jewish-American merchant and former owner of Monticello, historic home of Thomas Jefferson
 * Jonas Portin, Finnish footballer
 * Jonás Ramalho, Spanish-Angolan footballer
 * Jonas Reckermann, German beach volleyball player
 * Jonas Renkse, Singer of Swedish band Katatonia
 * Jonas Sakuwaha, Zambian footballer
 * Jonas Salk, American physician and researcher, best known for the development of the first polio vaccine
 * Jonas Sanker, American football player
 * Jonas Savimbi, Angolan revolutionary
 * Jonas Sparring, Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender
 * Jonas Gahr Støre, Norwegian politician
 * Jonas Erikson Sundahl (1678–1762), Swedish-born architect who spent most of his working life in Germany
 * Jonas Švedas, Lithuanian composer
 * Jonas March Tebbetts (1820–1913), American politician
 * Jonas Tomalty, Canadian rock musician from Montréal
 * Jonas Vaitkus, lecturer and film director in Lithuania
 * Jonas Valančiūnas (born 1992), Lithuanian basketball player
 * Jonas Vileišis, Lithuanian lawyer, politician, and diplomat
 * Jonas Vingegaard, Danish cyclist
 * Jonas Wikman, Swedish officer
 * Jonas Wikström, Swedish Navy officer
 * Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (born 1990), German basketball player
 * Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
 * Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, Turkish journalist
 * Yunus Altun, Turkish footballer
 * Yunus Emre, Turkish poet and mystic

Notable people with the surname Jonas

 * Abraham Jonas (politician), politician
 * Abraham Jonas (rugby league), rugby league player
 * Alberto Jonás, pianist
 * Ann Jonas, writer
 * Benjamin F. Jonas, politician
 * Billy Jonas, folk musician
 * Bruno Jonas, political cabaret artist, Germany
 * Charles Jonas (disambiguation), a number of American politicians
 * Clemens Jonas, figure skater
 * Danielle Jonas, wife of Kevin Jonas of the Jonas Brothers
 * Don Jonas, American footballer
 * Dusty Jonas, high jumper
 * Edgar A. Jonas, politician
 * Émile Jonas (1827–1905), French composer
 * Fran Jonas (born 2004), New Zealand cricketer
 * Frankie Jonas, younger brother to Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas, and Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers
 * Franz Jonas, politician, President of Austria
 * George Jonas, author
 * George "Freddie" Jonas, businessman and philanthropist who founded Camp Rising Sun
 * Gilbert Jonas, businessman
 * Glenn Jonas, cricketer
 * Hans Jonas, philosopher
 * Howard Jonas, businessman
 * Israel Heymann Jonas (1795–1851), German malacologist
 * Joan Jonas, artist
 * John Jonas, metallurgist
 * Joseph Jonas (disambiguation), a number of people including
 * Joseph Jonas, politician
 * Joe Jonas, musician, member of Jonas Brothers
 * Justus Jonas, Protestant reformer
 * Kevin Jonas, musician, oldest member of Jonas Brothers
 * Lihen Jonas, Micronesian sprinter
 * Louis Paul Jonas, master sculptor, museum exhibit designer, taxidermist
 * Margarete Jonas, wife of the former federal president of Austria
 * Marie Jonas, physician
 * Mark Jonas, football (soccer) player
 * Maryla Jonas, pianist
 * Michal Jonáš, footballer
 * Nathan S. Jonas (1868—1943), American banker and philanthropist
 * Nick Jonas, musician, youngest member of Jonas Brothers
 * Peter Jonas (disambiguation), a number of people including
 * Peter Jonas (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
 * Peter Jonas (figure skater)
 * Priyanka Jonas, Indian actress, model and film producer
 * Regina Jonas, rabbi
 * Tom Jonas, Australian Rules Football player
 * William Jonas, footballer

Fictional characters

 * Eldred Jonas, character from the novel Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
 * Jonas, the main character in The Giver by Lois Lowry
 * Jonas, a character in the online serial lonelygirl15, portrayed by Jackson Davis
 * Jonas Blane, one of the lead characters in the American television show The Unit
 * Jonas Grumby, the Skipper from the television sitcom Gilligan's Island
 * Jonas Hodges, a villain in Season 7 of 24 played by Jon Voight
 * Jonas Morecock, a homosexual animated character
 * Jonas Quinn, character in the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1
 * Jonas Wilkerson, character from Gone With the Wind.
 * Michael Jonas, character in the sci-fi series Star Trek: Voyager
 * Jonas Taylor, character in an action horror movie The Meg
 * Jonas Kahnwald, character in the German sci-fi series Dark
 * Jonas Miller, character in the movie Twister.
 * Jonas Hunter, the late son of Rip Hunter in Legends of Tomorrow.
 * Jonas, character from the French movie I am Jonas
 * Jonas, character from the Brazilian movie Jonas

Male variants

 * Giona (Italian)
 * Jonàs (Catalan)
 * Jona (Croatian)
 * Jonáš (Czech)
 * Jonah (English)
 * Jonas (German, Swedish, Dutch, Lithuanian and Portuguese)
 * Jónás (Hungarian)
 * Jónas (Icelandic)
 * Joona (Finnish)
 * Joonas (Finnish)
 * Junis (Kazakh)
 * Yona (요나) (Korean)
 * Junus (Kyrgyz)
 * Jonasz (Polish)
 * Jonaš (Prekmurje dialect of Slovene)
 * Jonáš (Slovak)
 * Jona (Slovene)
 * Jonás (Spanish)
 * Yona (Hebrew)
 * Yonas (ዮናስ) (Amharic) (Ethiopian)
 * Yunus (Turkish)
 * Yunes (یونس) (Persian)
 * Younes (يونس) (Arabic)
 * Joonas (Estonian and Finnish)
 * Yunsi (Berber)
 * Ionas (Ίωνας) (Greek)

Contemporary use of the name Jonas

 * "My Name Is Jonas", a song from the alternative rock band Weezer's Blue Album.
 * "Jonas, or the Artist at Work", a short story from the collection Exile and the Kingdom by French author Albert Camus
 * Protagonist of Lois Lowry's novel The Giver.