The jonas Surname
jonas Name Meaning and History
- English, German, French, Jewish (Ashkenazic), Lithuanian, Czech and Slovak (Jonáš), and Hungarian (Jónás): from a medieval personal name, which comes from the Hebrew male personal name Yona, meaning ‘dove’. In the book of the Bible which bears his name, Jonah was appointed by God to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh, but tried to flee instead to Tarshish. On the voyage to Tarshish, a great storm blew up, and Jonah was thrown overboard by his shipmates to appease God’s wrath, swallowed by a great fish, and delivered by it on the shores of Nineveh. This story exercised a powerful hold on the popular imagination in medieval Europe, and the personal name was a relatively common choice. The Hebrew name and its reflexes in other languages (for example Yiddish Yoyne) have been popular Jewish personal names for generations. There are also saints, martyrs, and bishops called Jonas venerated in the Orthodox Church. Ionas is found as a Greek family name.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic): respelling of Yonis, with Yiddish possessive -s.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
14–Day Free Trial
Search for jonas records
More resources for your jonas family history
Jonas message board
Threads: 115 - Messages: 340
| Thread | Author | Replies |
| Julius Jonas, Sarah Jonas, Chicago, 1920 |
 EKettner3
| 2 |
| Dan M.JONAS b abt 1895 NC | Ann Reed | 45 |
| Frank L. Jonas later Jones |
KristinNetterstrom
| 0 |
| Jonas/Loeffler Families |
RandallJames57
| 2 |
| JONAS IN,NY :Feeney,Mangan,Breidenstein | Patrick Jonas | 15 |
| Jonas in Elyria, OH in 1885 |
cathydufendach
| 0 |
| Death of Mr. Clyde Jonas in Mexico |
davwayell
| 0 |
| Jonas Family of Wythe Co., Virginia |
DJonas8978
| 18 |
| Jonas Family Indianapolis Buffalo | Patrick F. Jonas | 5 |
| the significance of jonas |
justinej19
| 0 |
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The jonas name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the jonas family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the jonas last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
- Find out how to get help from other Ancestry members through this tutorial.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.co.uk for all of your jonas ancestors.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.co.uk homepage.