Head to head · Boys' names
Nathaniel vs Nicholas
#140 vs #112 in 2025
Nicholas is ahead (#112 vs #140 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Nicholas is stepping back from its peak, Nathaniel is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Nathaniel has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Nicholas leads 4 measures of 6; Nathaniel leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Nathaniel #218, Nicholas #180 — Nicholas higher
- 1890s: Nathaniel #207, Nicholas #175 — Nicholas higher
- 1900s: Nathaniel #172, Nicholas #159 — Nicholas higher
- 1910s: Nathaniel #180, Nicholas #114 — Nicholas higher
- 1920s: Nathaniel #182, Nicholas #129 — Nicholas higher
- 1930s: Nathaniel #183, Nicholas #157 — Nicholas higher
- 1940s: Nathaniel #183, Nicholas #146 — Nicholas higher
- 1950s: Nathaniel #204, Nicholas #139 — Nicholas higher
- 1960s: Nathaniel #234, Nicholas #144 — Nicholas higher
- 1970s: Nathaniel #147, Nicholas #76 — Nicholas higher
- 1980s: Nathaniel #80, Nicholas #18 — Nicholas higher
- 1990s: Nathaniel #73, Nicholas #9 — Nicholas higher
- 2000s: Nathaniel #69, Nicholas #16 — Nicholas higher
- 2010s: Nathaniel #98, Nicholas #58 — Nicholas higher
- 2020s: Nathaniel #137, Nicholas #102 — Nicholas higher
Nicholas stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Nathaniel | Nicholas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #218 | #180 |
| 1890s | #207 | #175 |
| 1900s | #172 | #159 |
| 1910s | #180 | #114 |
| 1920s | #182 | #129 |
| 1930s | #183 | #157 |
| 1940s | #183 | #146 |
| 1950s | #204 | #139 |
| 1960s | #234 | #144 |
| 1970s | #147 | #76 |
| 1980s | #80 | #18 |
| 1990s | #73 | #9 |
| 2000s | #69 | #16 |
| 2010s | #98 | #58 |
| 2020s | #137 | #102 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Nathaniel
God has given
Hebrew natan, he gave, and el, God: a short sentence about a child being a gift. It belongs to the large family of Hebrew sentence-names and is the exact equivalent of the Greek Theodore, which says the same thing in the other order and in another language.
Netanel → Nathanael → Nathaniel
How it traveled
Nathan is a different name and not a shortening of this one, though the two share a verb. Nathan is the same word standing alone, with the giver unnamed, and it belongs to the prophet who tells David a story about a poor man's lamb and then says the man in the story is him; Nathaniel names the giver outright.
Nicholas
victory of the people
Greek Nikolaos: nike, victory, with laos, the people. Nike was also the goddess of victory, and laos is the word behind laity and laypeople. The compound was an ordinary Greek name long before it belonged to any saint.
Nikolaos → Nicolaus → Nicholas
How it traveled
Nicholas of Myra was a bishop in the fourth century, and almost nothing about his life is documented, which did not stop him becoming the patron saint of sailors, merchants, pawnbrokers, repentant thieves and children. The story that fixed him was the one about secretly providing dowries for three girls, and the secrecy is the part that survived: gifts left at night, from someone who does not want to be seen.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Nathaniel
nuh-THAN-yul
Three or four syllables depending on how carefully it is said. The th is the unvoiced one, as in thin, and the ending is reduced to almost nothing in ordinary American speech.
- Nate — The universal short form; plain, adult and better known than the full name in America.
- Nat — The older shortening, with a short vowel; unisex and slightly antique.
- Than — Cut from the middle; unusual and it collides with an English word.
Nicholas
NIK-uh-lus
Three syllables, stress on the first. Spanish and French put it on the last, nee-ko-LAS. Russian Nikolai has the weight at the end too. The h in the English spelling is silent and was added in medieval Latin.
- Nick — The default, and a full name in its own right for a great many men.
- Nico — The Italian and Spanish clip, now widely used in English and by either child.
- Cole — Taken from the middle rather than the front; a full name of its own.
- Klaas — The Dutch short form, still ordinary in the Netherlands.
Who has carried each name
Nathaniel
Nathaniel Hawthorne (b. 1804) — Wrote The Scarlet Letter
Nicholas
Nicholas Winton (b. 1909) — Quietly saved 669 children from the Nazis; the world found out 50 years later
Nicholas Hoult (b. 1989) — About a Boy child star turned X-Men and Nosferatu lead
Nicholas Sparks (b. 1965) — Wrote The Notebook
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Nathaniel if you want…
- a name fewer children share#140 in 2025 — nathaniel will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 84% for Nicholas
Choose Nicholas if you want…
- a name most people already know#112 in 2025, 3,115 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsNicholas is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowNicholas is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Nathaniel
Strengths
- Nate is a short, plain, adult everyday form available from the first day.
- The meaning is warm, clear and can be given to a child in three words.
- The name has been in continuous use for as long as there are records of names.
To consider
- The record carries it for girls in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- Nathanael with an a is the biblical spelling and Nathaniel the English one, so both circulate.
- Four syllables is a long name, and a short form will be chosen early by other people.
Nicholas
Strengths
- A settled Greek meaning with both elements traceable to ordinary words.
- The same name in a dozen European languages, usually recognizable on sight.
- Four short forms of genuinely different registers, one of which serves either child.
To consider
- It is very widely used and has been for decades, so it carries no signal at all.
- The Santa Claus connection is unavoidable and children will discover it.
- Nicolas, Nikolas and Nickolas are all in use, so the spelling will be given often.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Nathaniel
25%chance Nathaniel feels dated by 2040
Nathaniel peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
Nicholas
84%chance Nicholas feels dated by 2040
Nicholas is coming down from a big peak (#5 in 1999). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Nathaniel and Nicholas in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Nathaniel and Nicholas?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Nathaniel and Nicholas — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Nathaniel or Nicholas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Nathaniel or Nicholas?
- Nicholas, in 2025: Nicholas ranked #112 with 3,115 babies; Nathaniel ranked #140 with 2,565 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Nathaniel or Nicholas?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Nathaniel moved down 15 places; Nicholas moved down 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Nathaniel or Nicholas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Nathaniel and Nicholas?
- About 250,000 people named Nathaniel are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 845,000 people named Nicholas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Nathaniels or Nicholass in the classroom?
- Nathaniel will almost certainly be the only one in school. Nicholas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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