Jonas (2)

From Ιωνας (Ionas), the Greek form of JONAH. This spelling is used in some English translations of the New Testament.

JONAH   male   English, Biblical
From the Hebrew name יוֹנָה (Yonah) meaning "dove". This was the name of a prophet swallowed by a fish, as told in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach in Nineveh, but instead fled by boat. After being caught in a storm, the other sailors threw Jonah overboard, at which point he was swallowed. He emerged from the fish alive and repentant three days later.

Jonah's story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the Hellenized form Jonas was occasionally used in England. The form Jonah did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.
EQUIVALENTS
ARABIC: Yunus
BIBLICAL GREEK: Ionas
BIBLICAL HEBREW: Yonah
BIBLICAL LATIN: Iona, Ionas
BIBLICAL: Jonah, Jonas
CZECH: Jonáš
DANISH: Jonas
DUTCH: Jonas
ENGLISH: Jonah
FINNISH: Joona, Joonas
GEORGIAN: Iona
GERMAN: Jonas
HEBREW: Yonah
ICELANDIC: Jónas
NORWEGIAN: Jonas
RUSSIAN: Iona
SLOVAK: Jonáš
SWEDISH: Jonas
TURKISH: Yunus
FEMININE FORMS
HEBREW: Yonina, Yonit