Nathaniel

What Nathaniel means

Means “God has given”

Modification, under influence of Daniel, of Nathanael, from Ancient Greek Ναθαναήλ (Nathanaḗl), from Biblical Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (Netan'el, literally “God has given”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Nathaniel” (revision 92144084), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Nathaniel?

US: Falling: down from #96 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #124 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2002, when 6,813 boys got the name (#62 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 666 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 753 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,403 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 DC (4.75 per 1,000 boys), ND (2.98 per 1,000 boys), MT (2.66 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Nathaniel is #140 in the US and #149 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 Nathaniel 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

• Nathanial33 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.

If you like Nathaniel

Boys

• Nathan#63“gave”^*
• Samuel#18“God has set or God has placed”^*
• Seth#581“chosen one, appointed, placed”^*
• Jacob#43“May He Heel”^*
• Saul#557Editor’s note Down from #494 in 2015 to #557 in 2025 in the US
• 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
• Hannah#56“grace, gracious, graced with child”^*
• Mikayla#746Form of Michael, meaning “who is like God?”^*

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