Will Jonah bring bad luck?

[MrsMermaid]

We love the name Jonah and have pretty much decided it is THE name for our first baby in September... But because we decided not to tell anybody the name until he is born I'm starting to worry that there might be negative opinions. Is the Jonah brings bad luck thing really something that will bother us or him as he grows up?

Why would it bring bad luck? It is a lovely name. You must be really superstitious to think that a name will bring bad luck.
I am well aware of the Jonah and the whale bible story but even in that Konah came good in the end and offered himself as s sacrifice yo save others, hence he came face after being swallowed whole. If he hadn't eventually done the right thing he would have stayed inside the whale never to be seen again.

Thanks iamnot it's not that I think it will actually bring bad luck, more that other people could keep mentioning it and that would be annoying! I interpret the story as Jonah making a mistake and being wise enough to change his mind and make things right again. A good attribute as far as I am concerned!

We have a Jonah and no one's mentioned bad luck. Saying that I've had mixed responses, some people love it and some say it's unusual. We love it though, it actually means dove/peace.

It might raise a few eyebrows if he joins the navy or becomes a fisherman or pirate. Otherwise I think he'll be just fine!

Haha, I opened this thread thinking it was going to refer to Jonah from Veep!

We have a Jonah too! We have not had anybody comment (apart from my Gran who was horrified!). Only thing I have found is that loads of people don't know how to spell it and I have to spell it out all the time. I thought it would be a really easy name for people!

Ahh that's amazing! Thanks everyone. Feeling reassured we do actually use boats surprisingly often though haha!

Lovely name. I have met a few who are under 6. I have never heard of the bad luck association, I must say.

It's a lovely name! My granny did mention it having negative connotations when I thought about it as a name for DC1, (who turned out to be a girl anyway), but she was the only person who did. She is 93 and very religious so wonder if that had something to do with it.

I am 43 and an atheist and immediately thought of the bad luck association when my friend named her son Jonah. However not a single other person knew what the hell I was talking about when I mentioned it!

Jonah is nice. I don't think many, if any, would comment on it... Use it

I think it's an older generation thing, the phrase 'being a Jonah' has pretty much disappeared from daily usage. My best friend has just called her new DH Jonah, and my mum & gran both bought up the bad luck thing when I told them the name, but none of my friends have mentioned it. I'd go for it if I was you, it's a lovely name.

If it crossed your mind that it might bring bad luck, then you obviously believe things can- so don't do it. It's just be in the back of your mind all the time all ready to leap to the front if he does have an unhappy time for any reason.

If someone says 'Jonah' I immediately think of 'being a Jonah'. But I don't really think the name would bring bad luck. I also associate it with people who complain and moan and bring a downer on everything, but I think that's just how the phrase was used when I was growing up - kind of like 'he's a right Jonah'.

It's becoming more popular here because of its popularity in the US, I think, where Old Testament names have been fashionable for longer, but I dont' suppose all those American Jonahs worry about bad luck.

I suppose if you were worried about Jonah's negative connotations you could consider Jonas which is similar but doesn't have the same associations.

I've just lost a baby at 23 weeks and we named him Jonah (once we knew he had died) but I had no idea it was bad luck?! It means dove...

😔

So sorry for your loss bluebell. Jonah is a beautiful name, the only place I ever heard it associated with bad luck was on here but it never put me off using it, it's just a silly superstition to do with fishing because of the Bible story. In fact in the Bible Jonah eventually listens to God.