Jonah in Arabic is يونس (Yūnus) in the Quran and for Muslims, and يونان (Yūnān) in the Arabic Bible and for Arab Christians. For an English speaker named Jonah, Arabic spells the sound, جونا, as Arabic Wikipedia does for the rugby player Jonah Lomu.
Copy the form you need. The Listen button reads each spelling in your device's Arabic voice, if it has one, so you can hear how يونس, يونان and جونا differ.
| Use it for | Copy this | Transliteration | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Quranic form, the one Muslims use | يونس | Yūnus | |
| The form Arab Christians use, from the Arabic Bible | يونان | Yūnān | |
| The English name Jonah, spelled by its sound | جونا | j · oo · n · aa |
Jonah in Arabic calligraphy, in three styles
Renders of يونس, يونان and جونا, in Amiri, Katibeh and Aref Ruqaa, drawn straight from the font files.
يونس, يونان or جونا: which spelling should you use?
For the prophet swallowed by the fish, choose by tradition. Surah 10 of the Quran is called Yūnus, and he is named in Quran 10:98; Arabic Wikipedia titles the Bible's book of Jonah سفر يونان. Wiktionary marks يونس as the Islamic form and يونان as the Christian one, and both are given names. For an English speaker, جونا is the spelling in use.
| Spelling | Who uses it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| يونس | Muslims: the prophet Jonah of the Quran | Quran 10:98; Arabic Wikipedia, يونس |
| يونان | Arab Christians: the prophet of the Book of Jonah | Arabic Wikipedia, سفر يونان |
| جونا | Arabic writing the English name Jonah by its sound, for an English speaker | the sound rules of our name tool, an estimate |
The Quran has one more name for him: ذا النون (Dhā al-Nūn), he of the fish, in Quran 21:87.
How Arabic Wikipedia writes people called Jonah
For the prophet Jonah, Arabic Wikipedia uses the Arabic form. For the one modern person called Jonah in the table below, its title writes جونا once. Jonah is not in the table of our name tool, and its sound rules give جونا.
| Person or work | Arabic Wikipedia title | First name as written |
|---|---|---|
| Jonah Lomu | جونا لومو | جونا |
How يونس is spelled, letter by letter
يونس has four letters, read from right to left, starting with the letter ي, yāʾ. One letter, و wāw, never joins the letter after it, so يونس always shows one small gap. Arabic writes only long vowels as letters. The two short vowels are marks that everyday spelling leaves out; يُونُس shows them.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Joins the next letter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ي | yāʾ | y | Yes |
| و | wāw | ū | No, never |
| ن | nūn | nu | Yes |
| س | sīn | s | Last letter |
What does Jonah mean?
Jonah means dove, according to Behind the Name. The Hebrew Yona means dove. Our list of Arabic boy names marks يونس as a name that came into Arabic from Greek, the language of its form Ionas. Jonah was one of the 500 most common names given to boys born in the US in 2024, in the Social Security Administration's 2024 national file, as copied in the usbabynames data package.
Two related names on this site are Noah in Arabic, نوح and Elijah in Arabic, إلياس. For Arabic names to choose from, browse the Arabic boy names with their meanings, part of our Arabic vocabulary lists.
Write يونس in more fonts and download it
Paste يونس into the box below, or into our Arabic calligraphy generator, to draw it in 12 more fonts and save it as a PNG.
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Naskh the print style
Thuluth-style Naskh with Thuluth touches
Kufi angular, for logos and titles
Ruqah everyday handwriting
Nastaliq the hanging Persian and Urdu style
Kano West African reed-pen style
Poster bold display lettering
Nothing you type leaves your browser; the only thing fetched is the fonts, from Google Fonts. Want to type in these styles on your own computer? Download free Arabic fonts, with our pick for each style.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jonah in the Quran?
The Quran calls him يونس (Yūnus). He is named, for example, in 10:98, Surah 10 is called Yūnus, and 21:87 calls him Dhā al-Nūn, he of the fish. Arab Christians call him يونان (Yūnān).
Is Yunus the same as Jonah?
Yes. Yūnus, يونس, is the Quranic and Muslim Arabic form of Jonah. Arab Christians use يونان, Yūnān, which is also the name of the book of Jonah in the Arabic Bible.
What does the name Jonah mean?
Jonah means dove. It is Hebrew, Yona, dove.
Which spelling of Jonah should I use for a tattoo?
Muslims write the name يونس and Arab Christians write it يونان; for the English name as English speakers say it, use جونا. In يونس: The letter wāw never joins the letter after it, so the one small gap is correct. In يونان: The letters wāw and alif never join the letter after them, so the two small gaps are correct. Paste your choice into the Arabic tattoo checker on this site before the stencil is made.