Naftuli
Of Hebrew origin, meaning "my struggle with God".
Name Census estimates that about 633 living Americans carry the first name Naftuli. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Naftuli today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naftuli births was 2005 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naftuli. 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 Naftuli with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
633
~ 1 in 541,476 Americans
Peak year
2005
46 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,027
Tracked since 1991
Census
Naftuli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 440 people with the first name Naftuli, which placed it at #22,573 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,573
National first-name rank
People counted
440
440 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
100.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Naftuli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naftuli is White at 100.0%. These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Naftuli described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Naftuli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 440
Popularity
Naftuli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naftuli from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 249 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Naftuli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Naftuli 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 Naftuli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Naftulis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Naftuli
The name Naftuli has its origins in the Jewish culture and can be traced back to the Hebrew language. It is a variant spelling of the name Naphtali, which is derived from the biblical figure of the same name, who was one of the sons of Jacob and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The name Naphtali is believed to have originated from the Hebrew word "naftul," meaning "wrestling" or "struggle," reflecting the struggle between Jacob and his wife Rachel, who had difficulty conceiving Naphtali. The name Naftuli is a diminutive form of Naphtali, often used as a term of endearment or affection.
In the Bible, the name Naphtali is mentioned several times, particularly in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Numbers, where the tribe of Naphtali is listed among the twelve tribes of Israel. The name also appears in various ancient Jewish texts, such as the Talmud and the Midrash, where it is associated with wisdom, courage, and strength.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Naftuli can be found in the writings of the medieval Jewish philosopher and scholar, Rashi (1040-1105 CE), who used the name in his commentaries on the Torah. Another prominent figure bearing the name was Naftuli Hertz Wessely (1725-1805), a Hebrew writer and philosopher who played a significant role in the Jewish Enlightenment movement known as the Haskalah.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Naftuli. These include:
1. Naftuli Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1816-1893), a renowned Russian-Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudic scholar.
2. Naftuli Hirsch Katzenelenbögen (1668-1756), a German rabbi and author of the influential work "Birkat HaTorah."
3. Naftuli Zvi Margolies (1781-1844), a Polish-Lithuanian rabbi and author of the influential work "Shas Vilna."
4. Naftuli Zvi Yehuda Weissmandl (1914-1957), a Holocaust survivor and prominent figure in the Rescue Committee in Slovakia during World War II.
5. Naftuli Hertz Levine (1887-1961), a Ukrainian-born American rabbi and author of numerous works on Jewish law and ethics.
While the name Naftuli may not be as common in modern times, it still holds significant cultural and historical significance within the Jewish community, serving as a reminder of the rich heritage and traditions associated with this ancient name.
People
Naftuli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naftuli 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
Naftuli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naftuli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naftuli 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 541,476 US residents.
Is Naftuli a common name?
We classify Naftuli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 639 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naftuli most popular?
The single biggest year for Naftuli was 2005, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naftuli is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Naftuli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 440 people with the name Naftuli, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,573 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Naftuli in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Naftuli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Naftuli leans strongly male. 441 people counted with this name were male (98.7%), compared with 6 female bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Naftuli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naftuli is White at 100.0%. These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Naftuli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Naftuli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (440 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Naftuli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Naftuli a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Naftuli 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 Naftuli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Naftuli 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 Naftuli 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.
How many Americans are named Naftuli?
Want to know how many people share the name Naftuli? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.