# Naphtali (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/naphtali/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “to compete with” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈnæf.təˌlaɪ/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 354 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 271 / 83 (23% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 20, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew נַפְתָּלִי (naftalí), a son of Jacob. Compare Arabic نافس (“to compete with”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 6 | 9,957 |
| 1982 | 8 | 7,970 |
| 1984 | 7 | 8,822 |
| 1986 | 6 | 10,448 |
| 1994 | 6 | 12,915 |
| 2002 | 5 | 17,323 |
| 2006 | 6 | 16,534 |
| 2007 | 5 | 19,653 |
| 2008 | 7 | 14,938 |
| 2009 | 7 | 14,777 |
| 2011 | 5 | 18,748 |
| 2017 | 5 | 17,677 |
| 2018 | 5 | 17,429 |
| 2021 | 5 | 16,954 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 | 10,415 |
| 2011 | 8 | 9,350 |
| 2012 | 7 | 10,430 |
| 2013 | 6 | 11,733 |
| 2014 | 6 | 11,698 |
| 2015 | 7 | 10,290 |
| 2016 | 6 | 11,708 |
| 2017 | 9 | 8,626 |
| 2018 | 14 | 6,234 |
| 2019 | 6 | 11,718 |
| 2020 | 7 | 10,268 |
| 2022 | 9 | 8,781 |
| 2023 | 15 | 6,132 |
| 2024 | 6 | 11,915 |
| 2025 | 6 | 11,588 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 3 | 3,849 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3,865 |
| 2011 | 3 | 4,647 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4,702 |

## In other languages

- Dutch: Naftali
- Hebrew: נַפְתָּלִי
- Polish: Neftali

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.