Natalya
A feminine name of Russian origin meaning "birthday" or "born on Christmas Day".
Name Census estimates that about 6,975 living Americans carry the first name Natalya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Natalya today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Natalya births was 2009 (380 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Natalya. 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
7.0K
~ 1 in 49,140 Americans
Peak year
2009
380 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,913
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Natalya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Natalya from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,677 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
Natalya 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 Natalya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Natalyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Natalya, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 131 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Natalya
Natalya is a feminine given name derived from the Latin word "natalis," which means "natal" or "birth." It is a name of Russian and Slavic origin, with variations such as Natalja, Natalija, and Nathalie found in other Slavic and European languages.
The name gained popularity in the Christian tradition, particularly in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic communities, as it was associated with the Nativity of Christ. It is believed that the name first appeared in the 4th century, during the reign of the Byzantine Empire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Natalya can be found in the Russian Primary Chronicle, a historical text dating back to the 12th century. The chronicle mentions a woman named Natalya, who was the daughter of a prominent Russian prince.
In the 18th century, Natalya became a popular name among the Russian nobility. Notably, Natalya Alexeyevna Dolgorukova (1714-1771) was a prominent figure at the court of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and played a significant role in Russian politics during that period.
Another notable Natalya was Natalya Nikolayevna Pushkina (1812-1863), the wife of the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. She was known for her beauty and intellectual pursuits, and her marriage to Pushkin was a celebrated union in Russian literary circles.
In the 20th century, Natalya Makarova (born 1940) gained international recognition as a prima ballerina with the Kirov Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. Her performances in iconic roles like Giselle and Sleeping Beauty cemented her status as one of the greatest ballet dancers of her time.
Natalya Gorbanevskaya (1936-2013) was a prominent Russian poet and civil rights activist. She was known for her participation in the 1968 Red Square protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and her continued advocacy for human rights and democracy in Russia.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Natalya throughout history, but the name has been widely used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring popularity and significance.
People
Natalya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Natalya 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
Natalya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Natalya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,975 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Natalya 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 49,140 US residents.
Is Natalya a common name?
We classify Natalya as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,096 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Natalya most popular?
The single biggest year for Natalya was 2009, when 380 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Natalya is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Natalya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Natalya 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.
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.