# Nathanael (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/nathanael/  
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 | “god has given” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | Nate, Nat |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 22,244 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 22,227 / 17 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,481, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ναθαναήλ (Nathanaḗl), from Biblical Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (Netan'el, literally “God has given”).

## What it means

Nathanael is grouped under gift.

## 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 | 5 | 11,561 |
| 1987 | 7 | 9,481 |
| 2023 | 5 | 16,893 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 433 | 579 |
| 2012 | 438 | 584 |
| 2013 | 471 | 560 |
| 2014 | 477 | 583 |
| 2015 | 480 | 580 |
| 2016 | 431 | 621 |
| 2017 | 402 | 644 |
| 2018 | 337 | 717 |
| 2019 | 348 | 710 |
| 2020 | 345 | 721 |
| 2021 | 317 | 781 |
| 2022 | 325 | 779 |
| 2023 | 369 | 719 |
| 2024 | 407 | 674 |
| 2025 | 442 | 632 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 52 | 638 |
| 2012 | 67 | 542 |
| 2013 | 75 | 500 |
| 2014 | 50 | 670 |
| 2015 | 61 | 601 |
| 2016 | 49 | 698 |
| 2017 | 52 | 673 |
| 2018 | 52 | 665 |
| 2019 | 45 | 731 |
| 2020 | 32 | 898 |
| 2021 | 27 | 1,055 |
| 2022 | 38 | 825 |
| 2023 | 37 | 857 |
| 2024 | 34 | 924 |
| 2025 | 37 | 856 |

## In other languages

- French: Nathanaël
- Greek: Ναθαναήλ

## People named Nathanael

- Nathanael West, American writer and screenwriter (1903–1940)
- Nathanael Greene, American general in the American Revolutionary War (1742-1786)
- Nathanaël Mbuku, Congolese international footballer who plays as a striker for Dinamo Zagreb
- Nathanael Pringsheim, German botanist (1823-1894)
- Nathanael Matthaeus von Wolf, astronomer and botanist (1724-1784)
- Nathanael of Ohrid, Bulgarian cleric, writer and revolutionary
- Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, American naval architect (1848–1938)
- Nathaniel Gottfried Leske, German natural scientist and geologist (1751-1786)
- Nate Bargatze, American comedian

## 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.