Naftali
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "my struggle" or "my wrestling".
Name Census estimates that about 1,918 living Americans carry the first name Naftali. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Naftali today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naftali births was 2018 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naftali. 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.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,704 Americans
Peak year
2018
83 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,066
Tracked since 1951
Popularity
Naftali: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naftali from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 550 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Naftali remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Naftali 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 Naftali during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Naftalis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Maryland recorded the most babies named Naftali, while Maryland, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 519 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Naftali
The name Naftali has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "naftulim," which means "wrestlings" or "struggles." The name is believed to have originated during the biblical period, and is associated with the biblical figure Naphtali, one of the twelve sons of Jacob.
In the Book of Genesis, Naphtali is described as the sixth son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid. The name Naphtali is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, including in the blessings that Jacob bestowed upon his sons before his death. The tribe of Naphtali, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, was named after him.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Naftali can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis. Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore this name, including:
1. Naftali Hertz Wessely (1725-1805), a Jewish writer and educator who played a significant role in the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement.
2. Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1817-1893), also known as the Netziv, a prominent Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudic scholar.
3. Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909), a Hebrew poet and writer who authored the lyrics of "Hatikvah," the national anthem of Israel.
4. Naftali Trop (1888-1966), a Ukrainian-born American Hebrew scholar and educator who served as the executive vice president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
5. Naftali Frenkel (1952-2014), an Israeli businessman and activist who worked tirelessly to secure the release of Israeli soldiers held captive by Hamas.
These individuals hailed from various backgrounds and time periods, but they all shared the name Naftali, which has its roots in the ancient Hebrew language and culture. The name has endured for centuries, serving as a reminder of the rich heritage and history associated with its origins.
People
Naftali + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naftali 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
Naftali: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naftali?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,918 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naftali 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 178,704 US residents.
Is Naftali a common name?
We classify Naftali as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,965 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naftali most popular?
The single biggest year for Naftali was 2018, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naftali is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Naftali a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Naftali 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.
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.