Nathan
Masculine · “he gave”
Nathan is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 587,497 boys against 1,774 girls since 1880. See Nathan as a girl name
Nathan is a complete name that is also the middle of two others. Nathaniel and Jonathan are both built around the same Hebrew verb, and Nathan is that verb standing alone: he gave. The prophet who carried it is remembered for one particular act of nerve — telling a king a story about a stolen lamb and then telling him the story was about him.
How old is the name Nathan?
Nathan was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Nathan alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 540,000 people named Nathan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nathan most popular?
Nathan peaked in 2004, reaching #20 nationally. Today it ranks #63, 43 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Where it comes from
From Natan to Nathan
The story of Nathan
The Nathan of the books of Samuel is a court prophet who does something court prophets rarely survive: he confronts David over Bathsheba by telling him a parable about a rich man who takes a poor man's only lamb, waits for the king to condemn the rich man, and then says that the king is the man. It is one of the most quoted passages in the Hebrew Bible and it is the reason the name carries what it carries. Nathan came into English use after the Reformation, went to America with the Puritans, and produced at least one American figure who is still quoted for a sentence he is said to have spoken on a scaffold in the Revolution.
Meaning
he gave
Hebrew natan is simply the verb: he gave. Nathaniel adds God as the giver — God has given — and Jonathan names the giver differently, using the divine name. Nathan on its own leaves the subject unstated, which is either an abbreviation or a deliberate reticence depending on which scholar you ask. The verb itself is not disputed and the name is one of the plainest in the Hebrew Bible.
Cultural footprint
Nathan Hale (b. 1755) — Revolutionary spy: "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country"
Nathan Lane (b. 1956) — Broadway's beloved comic star (The Producers)
Nathan Fillion (b. 1971) — Castle and Firefly star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Natan
- Nathan
Related forms: נָתָן · Nathan · Natán · Natan · Nafan
Pronouncing Nathan
NAY-thun
NAY-thun, two syllables, stress at the front, the th soft as in the word the. Hebrew says na-TAN with the weight at the back and both vowels short, which is a noticeably different name to an Israeli ear. French keeps the English-ish shape and adds a nasal ending.
Nicknames for Nathan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 200414,634 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #20reached in 2004
- Change vs 2022
- −10.3%4,975 in 2025, from 5,544
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Nathan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- נָתָן in Hebrew — transliteration
- Nathan in French — same name
- Natán in Spanish — same name
- Natan in Italian — same name
- Nafan in Russian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from Statistics Canada, INSEE, National Records of Scotland, Office for National Statistics. Sources
Nathans among us
people named Nathan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 343 born in 2025 was named Nathan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Eugene test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nathan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Eugene climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Eugene's path sketches the road Nathan is walking now.
Nathan has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Nathan is headed
Nathan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Nathan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nathan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables, one spelling, and no ambiguity anywhere in it — rare in a name this widely used.
- Nate is a complete working name rather than a clipping that needs the long form behind it.
- It has been in continuous English use for four centuries without becoming tied to any one period.
- The story attached to it is about telling the truth to power, which is an unusual thing for a name to carry.
- It is assumed to be short for Nathaniel constantly, and correcting that is a small speech most Nathans stop giving.
- A great many people already carry it, so a Nathan will rarely be the only one in a workplace over a lifetime.
- Nate is so automatic that a family wanting the full name used will have to insist and will mostly lose.
- This spelling is on record for girls too, though so rarely that a girl named Nathan will be read as a boy on every form; Natania and Netanya carry the same root without that.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Nathan
Masculine · #63 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nathans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 540,000 people named Nathan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nathan in 2025?
- Nathan ranks #63 among US boy names in 2025, with 4,975 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Nathan?
- About 1 in every 343 US boys born in 2025 was named Nathan — 4,975 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nathan with classmates?
- Nathan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nathan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aiden#62 · Brooks#64 · Nolan#65 · Ezekiel#61 · Joshua#66 · Beau#60 · Rowan#59 · Angel#67
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nathan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nathan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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