Jonadab
Jonadab is a figure in the Hebrew Bible, appearing in 2 Samuel 13. He is described in verse 3 as the son of Shimeah, who was the brother of David, making Jonadab a cousin to Amnon as well as his friend. He is called "very wise", usually translated as "very shrewd" (NIV) or "very crafty" (ESV).
Meaning & Origin of Jonadab
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Jonadab is a figure in the Hebrew Bible, appearing in 2 Samuel 13. He is described in verse 3 as the son of Shimeah, who was the brother of David, making Jonadab a cousin to Amnon as well as his friend. He is called "very wise", usually translated as "very shrewd" (NIV) or "very crafty" (ESV).
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Jonadab
The earliest SSA record of Jonadab as a baby boy name dates back to 1995, when 5 babies received it. 1996 was its biggest year on record, with 6 newborns named Jonadab — #7,971 in the national rankings. About 52% of every Jonadab on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Jonadab last appeared in the published SSA data in 2011, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 21 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1990s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Jonadab
Phonetically similar names — useful when Jonadab is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jonadab
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About the name Jonadab
Jonadab is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1995 and has accumulated 21 births in the dataset. Jonadab's peak popularity came in 1996 when it ranked #7,971. Use the chart and map above to compare Jonadab's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1996 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "J" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.