Nachmen
A masculine Yiddish name derived from Hebrew meaning "pleasant one."
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Nachmen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nachmen today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nachmen births was 2023 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nachmen. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nachmen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
2023
19 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,109
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Nachmen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nachmen from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 65 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nachmen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nachmen 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 Nachmen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nachmens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nachmen
The name Nachmen has its origins in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "nacham," which means "to comfort" or "to console." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to ancient times, around the 6th century BCE.
Nachmen was a relatively common name among Jewish communities throughout the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Nachmen ben Shmuel, a renowned Talmudic scholar who lived in Babylonia during the 9th century CE. His teachings and interpretations of Jewish law had a significant influence on subsequent generations of scholars.
Another notable figure was Nachmen of Bratslav, a prominent Hasidic rabbi who lived in Ukraine from 1772 to 1810. He was a influential spiritual leader and the founder of the Bratslav Hasidic movement, which emphasized joy, simplicity, and a deep connection with God. His teachings and stories continue to inspire many followers to this day.
In the realm of literature, Nachmen Yankev Tsinberg, a Yiddish writer and playwright born in 1875 in Ukraine, made significant contributions to Yiddish culture. His works explored themes of Jewish identity and the struggles of life in the shtetls (small Jewish towns) of Eastern Europe.
Another notable figure was Nachmen Waxman, a renowned Jewish-American historian and scholar of Jewish studies. Born in 1884 in Russia, he immigrated to the United States and became a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he made important contributions to the study of Jewish history and culture.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Nachmen was Nachmen Brawerman, a renowned cantor and composer who lived from 1925 to 1997. Born in Poland, he survived the Holocaust and went on to become a celebrated performer and teacher, preserving and promoting Jewish liturgical music throughout his career.
The name Nachmen has a rich history and cultural significance within the Jewish tradition, representing values of comfort, consolation, and spiritual guidance. While it may not be as common today, the name continues to be a cherished part of Jewish heritage and a reminder of the profound contributions made by individuals who bore this name throughout history.
People
Nachmen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nachmen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nachmen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nachmen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nachmen 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 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Nachmen a common name?
We classify Nachmen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nachmen most popular?
The single biggest year for Nachmen was 2023, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nachmen is about 10 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 Nachmen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nachmen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nachmen 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 Nachmen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nachmen 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 Nachmen 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 Nachmen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.