Nath
Lord or master in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Nath. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nath today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nath births was 1924 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nath. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Nath is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Naths were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nath. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1924
7 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1933 SSA rank
#3,530
Tracked since 1911
Census
Nath in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 220 people with the first name Nath, which placed it at #36,203 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
#36,203
National first-name rank
People counted
220
220 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
56.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nath
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nath is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.4%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Black (8.2%). 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 Nath 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 Nath at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander56.4% · 124
- White25.0% · 55
- Black or African American8.2% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 15
- Two or more races2.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 3
Popularity
Nath: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nath from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 18 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Nath remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nath 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 Nath during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nath
The name Nath has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the word "natha," which means "lord" or "protector." The name has been in use for centuries and can be found in various ancient Hindu texts and scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nath can be found in the Puranas, a collection of Hindu religious texts. The Puranas mention several saints and sages with the name Nath, including Gorakhnath, a renowned yogi and founder of the Nath Sampradaya, a Hindu spiritual tradition. Gorakhnath lived in the 11th or 12th century CE and is considered one of the most influential figures in the Nath Sampradaya.
Another notable person with the name Nath was Matsyendranath, a renowned yogi and philosopher who lived in the 9th or 10th century CE. He is recognized as one of the founding fathers of the Nath Sampradaya and is credited with spreading the teachings of this tradition across the Indian subcontinent.
In the realm of Indian classical music, Nath has been a popular name among musicians and composers. One of the most renowned figures in this field was Tansen, a legendary musician and court singer who lived during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th century. His full name was Tan Sen Nath, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest music composers in Indian history.
Moving forward in time, the name Nath gained prominence in the field of literature. Nath Madhav, a famous Marathi poet and playwright, lived in the 17th century and made significant contributions to the Marathi literary tradition. His works, including plays and poetry, are widely acclaimed and studied in the region.
More recently, in the 20th century, Nath Pai was a renowned Indian freedom fighter and social reformer. He played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement and worked tirelessly to uplift the underprivileged sections of society.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Nath throughout history. The name has endured across centuries, and its Sanskrit roots continue to resonate with its meanings of "lord" and "protector."
People
Nath + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nath 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
Nath: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nath?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nath 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 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Nath a common name?
We classify Nath as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nath most popular?
The single biggest year for Nath was 1924, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nath is about 84 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nath in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 220 people with the name Nath, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,203 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 Nath 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 Nath?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nath on both sides of the split. Of the 222 people counted with this name, 155 were male (69.8%) and 67 were female (30.2%). 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 Nath?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nath is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.4%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Black (8.2%). 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 Nath most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nath in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.4% (124 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 Nath in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nath a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nath 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 Nath still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nath 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 Nath 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 Nath?
See how many people have the name Nath on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.