Jonas is a common male name in many Western world countries. It is primarily used as a first name, but also occurs as a surname. It is particularly frequent in Israel, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa, and the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; 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. In Turkish, Arabic and the Muslim world the equivalent name is Yunus (یونس) or Younes. In North America the name found popularity among Métis and Aboriginals in the Northwest.
Jonas possibly originates from the Greek word Ίωνας (Ionas), a member of the Greek tribe (Ιωνες) Iones or Ionians, who colonized western Asia. It is the Greek transliteration of "Jonah" (as in the Old Testament Book of Jonah).
The Hebrew version of the name means Dove; That is because word 'jonas' comes from the Greek word οιωνός, (pronounced: e-oh-nos) which means "sign", because in ancient Greece it was believed that birds were sent by gods as a sign to people. From this it is assumed that the name Jonas means a peaceful being. As a variation of Jonah, it can be considered to mean 'accomplishing', and a 'gift from God'.
Jonas, father of Simon Peter; written as "John" in some translations of the Bible.
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, Research Officer, Expert on Orders
Jonas Basanavičius, an activist and a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania
Jonas Biliūnas, Lithuanian short story writer
Jonas Billstein, German mixed martial artist
Jonas Bjerre, lead singer and guitarist of Danish band Mew
Jonas Björkman, Swedish tennis player
Jonas Gardell, Swedish writer and comedian
Jonas Gustavsson, NHL goaltender
Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentine footballer
Jónas Hallgrímsson, Icelandic poet, author and naturalist
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 Mačiulis aka Maironis, 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 Patron, Canadian Taekwondo National Team member
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 Savimbi, Angolan revolutionary
Jonas Sparring, Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender
Jonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian foreign minister
Jonas Švedas, Lithuanian composer
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 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
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
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
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, former musician, member of Jonas Brothers
Justus Jonas, Protestant reformer
Kevin Jonas, former musician, oldest member of Jonas Brothers
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
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)
Regina Jonas, rabbi
Tom Jonas, Australian Rules Football player
William Jonas, footballer
Eldred Jonas, character from the novel Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Jonas, the title character in the novel Jonas by Jens Bjørneboe
Jonas "the learned" Palmason, character in the novel From the Mouth of the Whale (original title Rökkurbýsnir), by Sjón
Jonas, Earthbound spacefaring companion of Severian in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun
Jonas, narrator of the Kurt Vonnegut novel Cat's Cradle
Jonas, the main character in the Giver trilogy by Lois Lowry
Jonas, a character in the online serial lonelygirl15, portrayed by Jackson Davis
Jonas, servant to Lady Catrina in BBC series Merlin
Jonas, the main character of the young adult novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry
Jonas Blane, one of the lead characters in the American television show The Unit
Jonas Cobb, "The port to port killer" from the television series NCIS
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 Simbacca, character in Exosquad
Jonas Steele, a civil war soldier and main character of the mini-series The Blue and the Gray
Jonas Venture, father to Rusty Venture in the Adult Swim series, The Venture Bros.
Master Jonas, arrogant Welsh teacher in How Green Was My Valley
Michael Jonas, character in the sci-fi series Star Trek: Voyager
Paul Jonas, character in the cyberpunk science fiction series Otherland, by Tad Williams
Jonas Palmer, character in the video game Fallout 3
Giona (Italian)
Jonàs (Catalan)
Jona (Croatian)
Jonáš (Czech)
Jonah (English)
Jonas (German, Swedish, Lithuanian and Portuguese)
Jónás (Hungarian)
Jónas (Icelandic)
Jonasz (Polish)
Jonaš (Prekmurje dialect of Slovene)
Jonáš (Slovak)
Jona (Slovene)
Jonás (Spanish)
Yona (Hebrew)
Yunus (Turkish)
Younes (يونس) (Arabic)
Joonas (Estonian and Finnish)
Yunsi (Berber)
Ionas (Ίωνας) (Greek)
"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
