Jonathan
/ˈd͡ʒɒnəθən/
"jonathan" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Jonathan” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,246 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #4,246
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A son of Saul, first mentioned in 1 Samuel.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Jonathan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈd͡ʒɒnəθən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #4,246 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Jonathan” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Jonathan is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈd͡ʒɒnəθən/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,246 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Jonathan, with forms such as "jjonathan", "jnoathan", and "joanthan". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hebrew יְהוֹנָתָן (yəhōnāṯān), יוֹנָתָן (yōnāṯān, literally “God has given”), apparently with influence from Aramaic [Term?]. The correct English form is Jonathan, spelled J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N.
Definition
- 1A son of Saul, first mentioned in 1 Samuel.
- 2Jonathan Apphus, a son of Mattathias, brother of Joannan Caddis, Simon Thassi, Judas Maccabeus and Eleazar Avara.
- 3A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
- 4A surname from Hebrew.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hebrew יְהוֹנָתָן (yəhōnāṯān), יוֹנָתָן (yōnāṯān, literally “God has given”), apparently with influence from Aramaic [Term?].
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: jjonathan,jnoathan,joanthan,jonahtan,jonatahn,jonathann,jonathhan,jonathna,jonatthan,jonnathan,jontahan,ojnathan
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Jonathan - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Jonathan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈd͡ʒɒnəθən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.