Nathain
A masculine given name derived from the Hebrew name Nathaniel, meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Nathain. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nathain today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nathain births was 2000 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nathain. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nathain. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2000
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#11,620
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Nathain: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Nathain 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 Nathain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Nathain
The name Nathain has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be a variant spelling of the biblical name Nathaniel, which is derived from the Hebrew words "natan" meaning "to give" and "el" meaning "God." The name can be interpreted as "Gift of God" or "God has given."
In the Old Testament of the Bible, Nathanael is mentioned as one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. He is described as a man from Cana in Galilee and is noted for his initial skepticism towards Jesus before becoming a devoted follower.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nathain can be found in historical records from the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, there was a notable figure named Nathain ben Yeshayahu, a Karaite Jewish scholar and mathematician who lived in Spain.
Another prominent individual with the name Nathain was Nathain ben Joseph Yerushalmi, a 14th-century Jewish philosopher and theologian from Jerusalem. He was known for his writings on Jewish law and ethics.
In the realm of literature, the name Nathain appears in the works of William Shakespeare. In his play "Love's Labour's Lost," one of the characters is named Nathaniel, which is a variant spelling of Nathain.
Moving forward in history, Nathain was the first name of Nathain Folger, an American merchant and one of the founders of the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in the late 17th century.
Another notable figure was Nathain Dunn, an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana in the early 19th century.
While the name Nathain has its roots in Hebrew and biblical origins, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, carrying with it the symbolic meaning of being a "Gift of God."
People
Nathain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nathain 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
Nathain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nathain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nathain 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Nathain a common name?
We classify Nathain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nathain most popular?
The single biggest year for Nathain was 2000, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nathain is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nathain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nathain a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nathain 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 Nathain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nathain 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 Nathain 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Nathain?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Nathain at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.