Holding steady.
Popularity of Johathan since 1955
Babies named Johathan per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 18 |
| 1960s | 108 |
| 1970s | 336 |
| 1980s | 975 |
| 1990s | 351 |
| 2000s | 129 |
| 2010s | 19 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Johathan represents a minor spelling variant of the well-established biblical name Jonathan. First recorded in U.S. data in 1955, it peaked in usage in 1983, but even then it never reached the top 1,000 names. Since the 1980s, its trajectory has been stable at very low numbers, with only a handful of births per year. The name is overwhelmingly given to boys. Parents choosing this spelling likely seek a distinctive twist on a classic, though the standard Jonathan far outpaces it in popularity.
Johathan is a variant spelling of Jonathan, which comes from the Hebrew name Yehonatan, meaning 'Yahweh has given'. It is drawn from the Old Testament, where Jonathan was the son of King Saul and close friend of David. The spelling with 'h' after 'Jo' likely arose through confusion with names like John or as a minor orthographic variant in English-speaking countries in the mid-20th century.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Jon, John, Jono, Nate
Sibling names for Johathan
Names that share Johathan's style, for a brother or sister.
