Yair Netanyahu Reportedly Changes Name to Yonatan Hon/Hun

Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has legally changed his name to Yonatan Hon (or Hun, depending on transliteration), according to a Haaretz report citing Israeli tax records. The name change was documented in official tax filings, with records from December 2024 issued under the name Yair Netanyahu, while 2025 and 2026 tax records appeared under the new name Yonatan Hon with the same identification number and address.

The surname Hon (or Hoon/Hun in alternative transliterations) derives from the original family name of Yair's maternal grandfather, Shmuel, before it was Hebraicized to Ben-Artzi. Yair had previously used variations of the surname 'Hoon' or 'Hun' on social media before making the legal change official.

Yair is not the first member of the Netanyahu family to legally change his name. His brother Avner Netanyahu also changed his name to Avi Segal, adopting a surname based on their paternal grandmother's original family name, and purchased property in the United Kingdom. Benjamin Netanyahu himself used a different name — Ben Nitai — while in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s, and his father Benzion was born Benzion Mileikowsky before changing the family surname to Netanyahu.

The center-right Times of Israel reported that the first name 'Yonatan' honors Yair's uncle, Benjamin Netanyahu's brother, who was killed in 1976 during Operation Entebbe. The outlet also noted that official name changes in Israel are legally irreversible for seven years, and provided biographical details indicating Yair Netanyahu is 34 years old, works as a right-wing activist and podcaster, and has resided in Florida for the past several years.

The left-leaning Middle East Eye reported additional genealogical context, noting that Segal was the original surname of Tzila, Benjamin Netanyahu's mother, before she married Benzion Netanyahu. The outlet also provided extended historical context, noting that several early Israeli prime ministers — including David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett, Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, and Ariel Sharon — were born under different names in Eastern Europe or Mandatory Palestine and later Hebraicized their names.

The Times of Israel reported that Avner Netanyahu stated his name change was prompted by security concerns while studying in London, while Benjamin Netanyahu said he used the name Ben Nitai to make his name easier for Americans to pronounce. The left-leaning Middle East Eye, by contrast, attributed Benjamin Netanyahu's stated reason for the name change to his considering settling in America at the time.

Left-leaning outlets reported that the tax records included a fictional address listed as 'Balfour 0.' They also noted that Yair Netanyahu has faced scrutiny over his business links in the United States, and referenced a 2018 Israeli television broadcast in which Yair Netanyahu appeared to boast outside a strip club that his father had helped advance a multibillion-dollar gas deal benefiting a tycoon.

The left-leaning Middle East Eye also reported that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu over war crimes and crimes against humanity, and noted that the prime minister faces three corruption investigations in Israel. These details were not mentioned in center-right or right-leaning coverage of the name change story.