Etymology

Proper noun

1. A son of Saul and friend of David, and other Old Testament persons.
2. of biblical origin, often falsely considered a variant of John.

Quotations

• And it came to pass, when he had made an end to speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

• 1936 Frank O'Connor, In The Train. The Stories of Frank O'Connor, Knopf, 1952. page 166:

  "Well indeed," said Foley, "'tis a mystery to me how the sergeant puts up with her. If any woman up and called me an outlandish name like Jonathan when everyone knew my name was plain John I'd do fourteen days for her - by God, I would, and a calendar month."

• 1998 Barbara Vine, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, ISBN 0670879274, page 168:

  So I'd change to names I really like. I mean, Jonathan. If I ever have a son I'm going to call him Jonathan, so I'd have that. And then I like monosyllabic surnames that aren't too common, so I'd have Dean or Bell or King. There you are, how about Jonathan King?

Related terms

• nonstandard spellings: Jonathon, Johnathan
• pet forms: Jon, Jonty, Nathan

Proper noun

1. ,the modern spelling of biblical Jonatan.

Proper noun

1. Jonathan.
2. .

Proper noun

1. Jonathan.
2. .

Proper noun

1. ,the modern spelling of biblical Jonatan.

Proper noun

1. , a spelling variant of Jonatan.