FastNamesNathan
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from biblical Hebrew Natan (נָתָן), meaning 'he gave' or 'gift from God'.". Ranked 63rd for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Nathan
Derived from biblical Hebrew Natan (נָתָן), meaning 'he gave' or 'gift from God'.
Linguistically, Nathan is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "NAY-thuhn".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Nathan has been given to a total of 587,497 boys. It has also been given to 1,774 girls.
Peak year: Nathan reached its highest relative share among boys in 2004, when 14,634 babies received the name (7,372 per million births).
All-time best rank: 20th place, first achieved in 2004.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 63rd with 4,975 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 38th (down 25 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Nathan in the 2000s than in any other decade (134,857 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,106 |
| 1890s | 1,180 |
| 1900s | 1,616 |
| 1910s | 7,132 |
| 1920s | 6,715 |
| 1930s | 4,699 |
| 1940s | 5,577 |
| 1950s | 10,126 |
| 1960s | 15,524 |
| 1970s | 65,857 |
| 1980s | 105,987 |
| 1990s | 107,332 |
| 2000s | 134,857 |
| 2010s | 88,034 |
| 2020s | 31,755 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Nathan is most common in the US
Accounting for when Nathan was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- New Hampshire: 1.6 times the national rate (3,212 births since 1910).
- Utah: 1.6 times the national rate (10,320 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.6 times the national rate (1,424 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.6 times the national rate (3,442 births since 1910).
- North Dakota: 1.6 times the national rate (2,384 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Nathan?
About 539,000 living American boys and men share the name Nathan. Additionally, an estimated 1,700 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Nathan is 28 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Nathan
Nathan derives from the Hebrew root natan ('to give'). In the Old Testament Hebrew Bible, Nathan was the courageous court prophet during the reigns of King David and King Solomon. He fearlessly confronted King David over his sin involving Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite with the famous parable of the poor man's ewe lamb, and later intervened to secure the coronation of Solomon. Another biblical Nathan was the third son of David and Bathsheba.
Largely neglected in Catholic medieval Europe in favor of calendar saints, Nathan was revived during the Protestant Reformation by English Puritans seeking authentic, humble Old Testament names. It crossed the Atlantic with the earliest New England settlers, achieving supreme patriotic reverence through young Continental Army captain Nathan Hale (1755–1776), executed as a spy by the British, whose purported dying words were 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country'.
In American naming history, Nathan was a colonial staple that experienced a major national renaissance in the late twentieth century. It entered the national top fifty in 1975 and held a place in the top thirty from 1998 through 2011, peaking at rank 20 in 2004 and 2005 with over 15,000 newborn boys per year.
Notable people named Nathan
- Nathan Hale (1755–1776), American Revolutionary War soldier, patriot, and hero
- Nathan Lane (1956–), American Tony- and Emmy Award-winning actor
- Nathan Chen (1999–), American Olympic champion figure skater
- Nathan Fillion (1971–), Canadian-American television and film actor
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 202.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 227.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), p. 678.