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Jonas Family History

Jonas Name Meaning

English German French Dutch Polish Lithuanian Sorbian and Jewish (Ashkenazic); Czech (Jonáš); Slovak (mainly Jonáš also Jónáš Jónás); Hungarian (Jónás): from a personal name which is a variant of the Biblical name Jonah Hebrew Yonah meaning ‘dove’ in Hebrew. 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 arose 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. In North America this surname is also an altered form of the Polish variant Jonasz. Compare Yonas .

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Jonak, Jones, Jons, Kotas, Monat, Janes, Janos, Jenks, Mona, Honan

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Where is the Jonas family from?

You can see how Jonas families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Jonas family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Jonas families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 44 Jonas families living in Ontario. This was about 29% of all the recorded Jonas's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Jonas families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Jonas surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Jonas ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Colier were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Jonas. 61% of Jonas men worked as a Farmer and 100% of Jonas women worked as a Colier. .

View Census Data for Jonas | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    61%
  • Laborer
    8%
  • Labourer
    6%
  • Machinist
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Colier
    100%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Jonas family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 67,000 census records available for the last name Jonas. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Jonas census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Jonas

Passenger Lists

There are 15,000 immigration records available for the last name Jonas. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 15,000 military records available for the last name Jonas. For the veterans among your Jonas ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Jonas lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Jonas life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Jonas in 1944 was 29, and 77 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Jonas

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