# Nathan (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/nathan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 8,300 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,284 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 37,198 people |
| Change since 2000 | +13% (7,369 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈneɪθən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named Nathan in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 57% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 27% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 9.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 3.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Nathan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Nathan

- George Jean Nathan, American drama critic and magazine editor (1882–1958)
- Matthew Nathan, British colonial administrator (1862–1939)
- DeDee Nathan, American heptathlete
- Joe Nathan, American baseball pitcher
- Isaac Nathan, Anglo-Australian composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist
- Maud Nathan, American activist (1862-1946)
- Robert Nathan, American novelist and poet (1894-1985)
- Tonie Nathan, American politician

## Similar surnames

Nation, Newton, Needham, Nadeem, Nodine, Nydam.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.