Jona

See also: jona, Iona, jóna, and Jóna

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch Jona.

Proper noun

Jona

Jonah (biblical character)

Albanian

Proper noun

Jona f

a female given name

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch jona, from Latin Iōnās, from Koine Greek Ἰωνᾶς (Iōnâs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹנָה (“Jonah; pigeon”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈjoː.naː/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: Jo‧na
Rhymes: -oːnaː

Proper noun

Jona m

(Judaism, Christianity, Islam) Jonah (fictional prophet who preached to the people of Nineveh, Biblical character)
Synonym: Jonas
(Judaism, Christianity) Jonah (book of the Hebrew Bible)

Faroese

Proper noun

Jona f

a female given name

Usage notes

Matronymics

Jona's son: Jonuson
Jona's daughter: Jonudóttir

Declension

	singular
	indefinite
nominative	Jona
accusative	Jonu
dative	Jonu
genitive	Jonu

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈjoːna/

Proper noun

Jona m (proper noun, strong, genitive Jonas)

alternative form of Jonas (now preferred for the biblical prophet, but less common as a given name)

Latin

Pronunciation

Jōnā:
- (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈjoː.naː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈjɔː.na]
Jōna:
- (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈjoː.na]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈjɔː.na]

Proper noun

Jōnā m

ablative of Jōnās

Proper noun

Jōna m

vocative of Jōnās

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

Jona

Wikipedia ^no

Alternative forms

Jonna (female given-name variant)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈjuː.na/
Rhymes: -uːna
Hyphenation: Jo‧na

Etymology 1

From Jon (“male given name”) +‎ -a (“feminine name-forming suffix”). Alternatively, a contracted form of Johanna.

Proper noun

Jona

a female given name from Norwegian

Usage notes

As a female name, Jona has an older Norwegian tradition and was particularly found during the 19th century. It has been little used for girls during the 21st century.

Etymology 2

Derived from Biblical Hebrew יוֹנָה (Yōnā, “dove”), through biblical tradition. The form corresponds more closely to the Hebrew name than Jonas, whose final ⟨s⟩ reflects the Greek and Latin nominative forms. In some cases, the male given name may instead be a short form of Jonatan or Jonathan. Doublet of Jonas (“male given name”).

Compare Danish Jona, Swedish Jona, Finnish Jona and English Jonah (“male given name”).

Proper noun

Jona

a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Jonah
(biblical) Jonah, an Old Testament prophet
(biblical) the Book of Jonah, a book of the Old Testament

Usage notes

In contemporary Norwegian Bible translations, the prophet and biblical book are called Jona. The form Jonas occurs in older translations and traditional usage.

Statistics

According to current data from Statistics Norway, 87 men in Norway had Jona as their sole or first given name as of 31 December 2025.^[1]
According to the same data, 78 women in Norway had Jona as their sole or first given name as of 31 December 2025.^[1]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “Jona” at Babyverden, citing Statistics Norway; “Navn”, Statistics Norway, updated 28 January 2026.

“Jona – kvinnenamn” in Store norske leksikon.
“Jona” at Nordic Names.

Swedish

Proper noun

Jona

Jonah (biblical book and prophet)
Synonym: (abbreviation) Jon

Anagrams

noja

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew יוֹנָה (Yônâ).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɔna/

Proper noun

Jona m (not mutable)

(biblical) Jonah, said to be author of the eponymous book
(biblical) The Book of Jonah

Coordinate terms

[statistics-1] 1.0 ^1.1 “Jona” at Babyverden, citing Statistics Norway; “Navn”, Statistics Norway, updated 28 January 2026.

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