Nathan

What Nathan means

Means “gave”

From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Nathan” (revision 94541986), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Nathan?

US: Falling: down from #38 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #64 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2004, when 14,634 boys got the name (#20 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 343 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 515 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 255 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DE (5.77 per 1,000 boys), WY (5.5 per 1,000 boys), MD (5.24 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Nathan is #63 in the US and #99 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Nathan were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Neithan371 US · 7 E&W
• Neythan255 US
• Nathen27 US
• Naythan19 US · 3 E&W
• Naithan10 US · 10 E&W
• Nithin5 US
• Naethan5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Nate
• Nat

Listed on Wiktionary under “given name diminutives”.

If you like Nathan

Boys

• Nathaniel#140“God has given”^*
• Seth#581“chosen one, appointed, placed”^*
• Jacob#43“May He Heel”^*
• Joel#219Editor’s note Down from #158 in 2015 to #219 in 2025 in the US
• Samuel#18“God has set or God has placed”^*
• Johnathan#508Variant of Jonathan, meaning “God has given”^*

For a sister

• Abby#731Diminutive of Abigail, meaning “my Father's joy”^*
• Anna#107Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #44 in 2015, #107 in 2025
• Gabriela#317Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2003, with 3,362 babies; 961 in 2025
• Jenna#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 6,436 babies; 418 in 2025
• Molly#196Editor’s note Down from #144 in 2015 to #196 in 2025 in the US
• Elisabeth#925“my God is an oath”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Nathan’s. Rank is US 2025.