Jonah

יוֹנָה

• Gender: Male
• Origin: Biblical English
• Meaning: dove

• Jonah is the prophet who famously tried to run from God's calling and ended up in the belly of a great fish. His story, read aloud in synagogues every Yom Kippur afternoon, is ultimately about second chances, humility, and the impossibility of outrunning your purpose. The name also means "dove," connecting it to the bird that brought an olive branch back to Noah's Ark as a sign of peace and hope.

  It is hard to find a biblical name that has climbed steadily into the mainstream without ever losing its soulful edge. Jonah Hill brought the name a jolt of Hollywood cool, proving it works just as well on a comedy star as on a biblical prophet. With one of the most dramatically compelling stories in all of scripture and a meaning that whispers peace, this is a name built to carry real weight lightly.

• Hebrew Equivalent:
  Yona
• Potential Sibling Name:
  Rebecca
  ,
  Dina
  ,
  Micah
  ,
  Samuel
• Theme: animals