Muslim Name · Male · Hebrew (preserved in Quranic Arabic) origin
Yunus Name Meaning in Islam
The Prophet Jonah.
- Meaning
- The Prophet Jonah. Yunus (AS), swallowed by the whale
- Origin
- Hebrew (preserved in Quranic Arabic)
- Gender
- Boy
- Urdu
- یونس
- Pronunciation
- YU-nus
- Lucky number
- 9
Is Yunus an Islamic name? Yes. Yunus is an established name in Muslim use, Hebrew (preserved in Quranic Arabic) in origin. Its settled meaning is: The Prophet Jonah. Yunus (AS), swallowed by the whale. Its root appears in the Quran, and the name is in continuous use across the Muslim world. Islamic tradition asks that a name carry a good meaning and claim nothing that belongs to God alone, and this name meets both.
Read the letter-by-letter reading ↓Section 1 · Arabic Root
Where the Name Comes From
ي-ون-س. Yūnus (AS), Jonah, the prophet of the whale. Sūrat Yūnus (Q 10) is named for him. Q 21:87 names him Dhū al-Nūn, the one of the whale.
Section 2 · Ilm ul Huroof
Read Letter by Letter
Ya of reaching opens, Waw of connection, Nun of depth, Sin of secret. The prophet of the whale.
Section 3 · Synthesis
What This Reading Says About You
Yunus is grounded in earth, the element of stability, patience, and quiet holding. The letters ask their bearer to be reliable rather than showy, to keep the household of the heart in order. Stitched through this reading is Al-Qayyum, the Self-Sustaining, meaning the person carries a self-holding constancy. A person named Yunus tends to be a settled place others return to.
Section 4 · What Families Say
What People Usually Mean by This Name
The Prophet Jonah. Yunus (AS), swallowed by the whale. His prayer from within the darkness of the whale is the most powerful dua in the Quran: 'There is no god but You, glory be to You, indeed I have been of the wrongdoers (La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu mina al-zalimin)' (21:87). Allah responded: 'We responded to him and saved him from distress, and thus do We save the believers.'.
Surah Yunus (Chapter 10) is named for him. Top Pakistani, Arab, and Turkish boys name.
Yunus (AS), the Prophet Jonah, has a surah of the Quran named for him: Surah Yunus (10). His story is retold in Surah As-Saffat (37:139 to 148), Surah Al-Anbiya (21:87 to 88), and Surah Al-Qalam (68:48 to 50).
The Quran preserves his prayer from within the darkness of the fish (dhu al-nun): 'There is no god but You, glory be to You, indeed I was among the wrongdoers' (21:87). The Prophet ﷺ said in a well-attested hadith that no believer prays this dua in a difficulty without Allah answering him.
Section 5 · Bearers
Who Has Carried This Name
How to Pronounce Yunus
Is this the spelling you searched?
Each form is Yunus, claimed by a different community, each with its own moment of recognition.
The letters are the same. But which community spelling carries the story you were born into? Browse all names →
Variants of this name
Different romanisations of Yunus live on different pages, each with its own context, region, and notes.
In English this is Jonah. The two names belong to the same prophet, and that page reads the Quranic and Biblical accounts side by side.
Want a different reading? Read another →
Names sharing the ي Ya influence
Like Yunus, these names carry Ya (ي) as their leading letter influence.
Frequently Asked Questions
About the name Yunus
What does the name Yunus mean?
Each letter under this meaning has its own quality. What does Ilm ul Huroof read in Yunus? → What does Ilm ul Huroof reveal about names like Yunus? →
Is Yunus mentioned in the Quran?
Most Islamic names trace back to the Quran in some form. Browse where Yunus fits in. Browse all Quranic names in our collection →
What does Yunus mean in Urdu?
Centuries of Urdu writing carried the Arabic letter readings forward, and Yunus carries them too. How do Arabic letters travel into Urdu names? →
Is Yunus a good Islamic name?
The letters of Yunus, each with its own reading, are laid out above ↑ jump to the letters reading ↑
Is Yunus a boy or girl name?
What is the spiritual meaning of Yunus in Ilm ul Huroof?
The reading comes from Ilm ul Huroof, the letter-science Ibn Arabi taught. Each letter in Yunus carries an ontological role. Read the full introduction to Ilm ul Huroof →
What names go perfectly with Yunus as a sibling name?
For sibling names that move with Yunus, scan the related-names list above and follow letter family and shared root.
Is Yunus a rare or common Muslim name?
To compare spellings of Yunus across communities, see the variants above ↑ or browse all names → See all spelling variants above ↑, or browse all names →
Is your name Yunus?
Bring in your parents' names, the field they formed is part of what Yunus became in you.
Read My Name Now →