Lethaniel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "belonging to God".
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Lethaniel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lethaniel today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lethaniel births was 1924 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lethaniel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lethaniel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1924
6 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1991 SSA rank
#9,059
Tracked since 1924
Popularity
Lethaniel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lethaniel from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Lethaniel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lethaniel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lethaniel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lethaniel
The given name Lethaniel has its roots in the ancient Hebrew language. It is believed to have originated sometime around the 5th century BCE, during the era when the Hebrew scriptures were being compiled. The name is a combination of two Hebrew words: "letah," meaning "to slaughter or kill," and "el," which is a reference to the Abrahamic God.
Lethaniel is not a name that appears in any of the major religious texts or ancient historical records. However, there are a few references to it in some lesser-known apocryphal writings from the early Christian era. These writings suggest that Lethaniel was the name of a minor figure in early Christian mythology, possibly a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lethaniel can be traced back to the 6th century CE, when it was found inscribed on a tombstone in the region of modern-day Israel. This suggests that the name was in use among certain Jewish communities during the Byzantine era.
Throughout history, there have been a handful of notable individuals who bore the name Lethaniel. One of the earliest was Lethaniel ben Judah, a Jewish scholar who lived in Spain during the 11th century. He is known for his work in the field of Hebrew grammar and linguistics.
Another prominent figure was Lethaniel de Montfort, a French nobleman and military commander who lived in the 13th century. He played a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
In the 16th century, there was a Dutch painter named Lethaniel van Haarlem, who was known for his landscapes and portraiture. He was active in the city of Haarlem during the Dutch Golden Age.
During the 17th century, Lethaniel Tate was an English poet and writer who is best remembered for his work "The Present Prospect of the Famous and Fertile Islands of Barbados." He was born in 1649 and died in 1705.
Finally, in the 19th century, there was an American politician named Lethaniel Bacon Prout, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut. He was born in 1805 and died in 1863.
While not a common name, Lethaniel has a long and fascinating history that spans various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Hebrew language, and it has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including scholars, military leaders, artists, writers, and politicians.
People
Lethaniel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lethaniel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lethaniel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lethaniel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lethaniel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 11,819,115 US residents.
Is Lethaniel a common name?
We classify Lethaniel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 40 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lethaniel most popular?
The single biggest year for Lethaniel was 1924, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lethaniel is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lethaniel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lethaniel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lethaniel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lethaniel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lethaniel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lethaniel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Lethaniel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.