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 directorJonas Erik Altberg aka Basshunter (born 1984), Swedish producer and DJJonas Armstrong, British/Irish actorJonas Arnell, Research Officer, Expert on OrdersJonas Basanavičius, an activist and a signatory of the Act of Independence of LithuaniaJonas Biliūnas, Lithuanian short story writerJonas Billstein, German mixed martial artistJonas Bjerre, lead singer and guitarist of Danish band MewJonas Björkman, Swedish tennis playerJonas Gardell, Swedish writer and comedianJonas Gustavsson, NHL goaltenderJonás Gutiérrez, Argentine footballerJónas Hallgrímsson, Icelandic poet, author and naturalistJonas Hellborg, Swedish bass playerJonas Hiller, Swiss NHL goaltenderJonas Höglund, NHL hockey playerJonas Jablonskis, Lithuanian language linguist and modifier of the standard Lithuanian languageJonas Jarlsby, Guitarist of the Swedish metal band "Avatar"Jonas Jennings, American professional football playerJonas Jerebko, Swedish NBA basketball playerJonas Kaufmann, German opera singerJonas Kyratzes, writer and game designerJonas Mačiulis aka Maironis, Lithuanian writer and poetJonas Mačiulis, a Lithuanian basketball playerJonas Mekas, Lithuanian film makerJonas of Orléans (760–841), Bishop of OrléansJonas Gonçalves Oliveira, Brazilian international footballerJonas Patron, Canadian Taekwondo National Team memberJonas Portin, Finnish footballerJonás Ramalho, Spanish-Angolan footballerJonas Reckermann, German beach volleyball playerJonas Renkse, Singer of Swedish band KatatoniaJonas Sakuwaha, Zambian footballerJonas Salk, American physician and researcher, best known for the development of the first polio vaccineJonas Savimbi, Angolan revolutionaryJonas Sparring, Swedish professional ice hockey goaltenderJonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian foreign ministerJonas Švedas, Lithuanian composerJonas Tomalty, Canadian rock musician from MontréalJonas Vaitkus, lecturer and film director in LithuaniaJonas Valančiūnas (born 1992), Lithuanian basketball playerJonas Vileišis, Lithuanian lawyer, politician, and diplomatJonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (born 1990), German basketball playerJhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey playerYunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, Turkish journalistYunus Altun, Turkish footballerYunus Emre, Turkish poet and mysticAbraham Jonas (politician), politicianAbraham Jonas (rugby league), rugby league playerAlberto Jonás, pianistAnn Jonas, writerBenjamin F. Jonas, politicianBilly Jonas, folk musicianBruno Jonas, political cabaret artist, GermanyCharles Jonas (disambiguation), a number of American politiciansClemens Jonas, figure skaterDanielle Jonas, wife of Kevin Jonas of the Jonas BrothersDon Jonas, American footballerDusty Jonas, high jumperEdgar A. Jonas, politicianFrankie Jonas, younger brother to Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas, and Joe Jonas of the Jonas BrothersFranz Jonas, politician, President of AustriaGeorge Jonas, authorGilbert Jonas, businessmanGlenn Jonas, cricketerHans Jonas, philosopherHoward Jonas, businessmanIsrael Heymann Jonas (1795–1851), German malacologistJoan Jonas, artistJohn Jonas, metallurgistJoseph Jonas (disambiguation), a number of people includingJoseph Jonas, politicianJoe Jonas, former musician, member of Jonas BrothersJustus Jonas, Protestant reformerKevin Jonas, former musician, oldest member of Jonas BrothersLouis Paul Jonas, master sculptor, museum exhibit designer, taxidermistMargarete Jonas, wife of the former federal president of AustriaMarie Jonas, physicianMark Jonas, football (soccer) playerMaryla Jonas, pianistMichal Jonáš, footballerNick Jonas, musician, youngest member of Jonas BrothersPeter Jonas (disambiguation), a number of people includingPeter Jonas (footballer), an Australian rules footballerPeter Jonas (figure skater)Regina Jonas, rabbiTom Jonas, Australian Rules Football playerWilliam Jonas, footballerEldred Jonas, character from the novel Wizard and Glass by Stephen KingJonas, the title character in the novel Jonas by Jens BjørneboeJonas "the learned" Palmason, character in the novel From the Mouth of the Whale (original title Rökkurbýsnir), by SjónJonas, Earthbound spacefaring companion of Severian in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New SunJonas, narrator of the Kurt Vonnegut novel Cat's CradleJonas, the main character in the Giver trilogy by Lois LowryJonas, a character in the online serial lonelygirl15, portrayed by Jackson DavisJonas, servant to Lady Catrina in BBC series MerlinJonas, the main character of the young adult novel, The Giver by Lois LowryJonas Blane, one of the lead characters in the American television show The UnitJonas Cobb, "The port to port killer" from the television series NCISJonas Grumby, the Skipper from the television sitcom Gilligan's IslandJonas Hodges, a villain in Season 7 of 24 played by Jon VoightJonas Morecock, a homosexual animated characterJonas Quinn, character in the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1Jonas Simbacca, character in ExosquadJonas Steele, a civil war soldier and main character of the mini-series The Blue and the GrayJonas Venture, father to Rusty Venture in the Adult Swim series, The Venture Bros.Master Jonas, arrogant Welsh teacher in How Green Was My ValleyMichael Jonas, character in the sci-fi series Star Trek: VoyagerPaul Jonas, character in the cyberpunk science fiction series Otherland, by Tad WilliamsJonas Palmer, character in the video game Fallout 3Giona (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