Natalee
A feminine name of French origin meaning "Christmas Day baby".
Name Census estimates that about 9,942 living Americans carry the first name Natalee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Natalee today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Natalee births was 2006 (603 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Natalee. 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 Natalee with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.9K
~ 1 in 34,475 Americans
Peak year
2006
603 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,255
Tracked since 1919
Census
Natalee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,564 people with the first name Natalee, which placed it at #2,737 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
#2,737
National first-name rank
People counted
8.6K
8,564 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Natalee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Natalee is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Natalee 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 Natalee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.7% · 5,797
- Hispanic or Latino17.6% · 1,503
- Black or African American6.8% · 580
- Two or more races5.1% · 441
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 168
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 75
Popularity
Natalee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Natalee from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,930 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Natalee 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 Natalee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Natalees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Natalee, while South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 176 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Natalee
Natalee is a feminine given name with origins that can be traced back to the Latin language. The name is derived from the Latin word "natalis," which means "birth" or "birthday." It is closely related to the name Natalie, and the two names share a similar meaning and linguistic roots.
In its earliest form, the name was likely used to commemorate a child's birth or to signify the day of their nativity. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, the name gained additional significance as it was associated with the birth of Christ, which is celebrated on Christmas or the Nativity.
While the name Natalee does not have a direct connection to any specific ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Latin roots and association with the concept of birth likely contributed to its popularity and use throughout various cultures and time periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Natalee can be found in historical records from the Middle Ages. During this time, the name was commonly used in regions with strong Roman Catholic traditions, such as parts of Europe and Latin America.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Natalee. One such person was Natalee Holloway, an American teenager who gained international attention after her disappearance during a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. Her case remains unsolved to this day and has sparked discussions about travel safety and the challenges of investigating crimes across international borders.
Another famous Natalee was Natalee Armistead Maddox Hodges (1863-1920), an American author and educator. She was a prominent figure in the literary circles of her time and was known for her contributions to the field of African American literature and education.
In the realm of sports, Natalee Gedgowd (born 1997) is a Canadian soccer player who has represented her country at various international tournaments, including the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Natalee Wavo (born 1986) is a renowned fashion designer from Papua New Guinea. Her unique designs, which often incorporate traditional Melanesian motifs and techniques, have been showcased on international runways and have garnered critical acclaim.
Lastly, Natalee Loeb (born 1976) is an American visual artist and photographer. Her work, which often explores themes of identity, body image, and societal expectations, has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and abroad.
People
Natalee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Natalee 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
Natalee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Natalee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,942 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Natalee 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 34,475 US residents.
Is Natalee a common name?
We classify Natalee as "Rare". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,244 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Natalee most popular?
The single biggest year for Natalee was 2006, when 603 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Natalee is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Natalee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,564 people with the name Natalee, or 2.84 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,737 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 Natalee 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 Natalee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Natalee appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,560 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Natalee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Natalee is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Natalee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Natalee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.7% (5,797 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 Natalee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Natalee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Natalee in the SSA data are female. 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 Natalee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Natalee 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 Natalee 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 Natalee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.