Jona means dove — a compact variant of Jonah, from the Hebrew yonah. Jonah IS the prophet swallowed by the great fish — the most dramatically rescued. Same dove-prophet, compact calligraphy. Two syllables of the great-fish-prophet in compact flowing.
Jonah IS the prophet swallowed by the great fish.Same dove in compact form.Two syllables with a warm, Hebrew sound: JO-nah.Jo and Na are both embedded.The most compactly dove-prophetic.
Jona IS the compact Jonah — the dove-prophet swallowed by the great fish.
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First recorded
Earliest known use: Hebrew; Jonah compact.
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Today
Jona remains a beloved choice, ranking #9259 in the US. 2,258 babies have been named Jona since 1922.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
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How popular is Jona?
1964peak year
The name Jona reached its peak in 1964, with 57 registrations (ranked #1508). It first surfaced in U.S. records in 1922, roughly 42 years before its peak. Since the peak, the name has eased to well outside the top 1,000 (around #9259) today, averaging about 32 new babies per year. Jona's usage has held roughly steady recently. Across all years on record, approximately 2,258 American babies have carried this name.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
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