# Nathan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/nathan/  
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 |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “gave” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈneɪθən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Nate, Nat, Nath, Nathe |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 589,271 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 587,497 / 1,774 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 47,388, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 14 | 8,846 |
| 2009 | 17 | 7,593 |
| 2010 | 9 | 11,982 |
| 2011 | 11 | 10,212 |
| 2012 | 16 | 7,703 |
| 2013 | 9 | 11,699 |
| 2014 | 9 | 11,678 |
| 2015 | 9 | 11,582 |
| 2016 | 6 | 15,671 |
| 2017 | 8 | 12,424 |
| 2018 | 10 | 10,348 |
| 2021 | 6 | 14,745 |
| 2022 | 6 | 14,803 |
| 2024 | 8 | 11,851 |
| 2025 | 5 | 16,565 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10,523 | 28 |
| 2012 | 10,431 | 29 |
| 2013 | 9,721 | 31 |
| 2014 | 8,997 | 38 |
| 2015 | 8,600 | 38 |
| 2016 | 8,000 | 43 |
| 2017 | 7,442 | 45 |
| 2018 | 6,850 | 48 |
| 2019 | 6,090 | 55 |
| 2020 | 5,702 | 55 |
| 2021 | 5,432 | 59 |
| 2022 | 5,544 | 57 |
| 2023 | 5,073 | 59 |
| 2024 | 5,029 | 62 |
| 2025 | 4,975 | 63 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,319 | 54 |
| 2012 | 1,212 | 56 |
| 2013 | 1,131 | 55 |
| 2014 | 1,055 | 62 |
| 2015 | 997 | 64 |
| 2016 | 872 | 77 |
| 2017 | 779 | 88 |
| 2018 | 633 | 102 |
| 2019 | 616 | 104 |
| 2020 | 525 | 111 |
| 2021 | 595 | 99 |
| 2022 | 524 | 105 |
| 2023 | 512 | 102 |
| 2024 | 597 | 88 |
| 2025 | 528 | 99 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Նաթան
- Chinese: 內森 /内森
- Danish: Nathan
- Dutch: Nathan
- Finnish: Naatan
- French: Nathan
- German: Nathan, Natan
- Greek: Νέιθαν
- Hebrew: נָתָן
- Hungarian: Nátán
- Italian: Nathan
- Japanese: ネーサン
- Latin: Nathan
- Norwegian: Nathan
- Polish: Natan
- Portuguese: Natã, Natan
- Russian: На́тан
- Spanish: Natán, Natan
- Swedish: Nathan

## People named Nathan

- Nathan Fillion, Canadian-American actor (born 1971)
- Nathan Aké, Dutch footballer (born 1995)
- Nathan Lane, American actor
- Nathan Burns, Australian association football player
- Nathan Kress, American actor (born 1992)
- Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate States Army general (1821–1877)
- Nathan Rosen, American-Israeli physicist
- Nathan Delfouneso, English association football player (born 1991)
- Nathan Trent, Austrian singer
- Nathan Redmond, English association football player
- Nathan Chen, American figure skater (born 1999)
- Nathan Adrian, American swimmer

## 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.