Nathanial
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 9,723 living Americans carry the first name Nathanial. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nathanial today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nathanial births was 1999 (371 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nathanial. 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
9.7K
~ 1 in 35,252 Americans
Peak year
1999
371 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,741
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Nathanial: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nathanial from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,997 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nathanial 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 Nathanial during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nathanials live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Nathanial, while Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 163 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nathanial
The name Nathanial is a masculine given name of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew words "natan" meaning "gift" and "el" meaning "God." Essentially, the name translates to "gift of God." The name has its roots in ancient Biblical times and appears in various spellings such as Nathanael, Nathaniel, and Nathanyel.
The earliest known historical reference to the name can be found in the Gospel of John, where Nathanael is mentioned as one of the first disciples of Jesus Christ. In this account, he is introduced as "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile" (John 1:47).
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nathaniel was Nathaniel Cromleholme, an English clergyman born in 1584. Another notable figure was Nathaniel Bacon, a wealthy planter and leader of Bacon's Rebellion in colonial Virginia, who lived from 1642 to 1676.
During the Puritan era in England, the name gained popularity among Puritans who favored Biblical names. One well-known bearer of the name was Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous American novelist and short story writer, who lived from 1804 to 1864.
In the realm of science, Nathaniel Bowditch, an American mathematician and navigator, made significant contributions to the field of celestial navigation with his work "The New American Practical Navigator," published in 1802. He lived from 1773 to 1838.
Another notable individual was Nathaniel Currier, an American lithographer who co-founded the famous Currier & Ives printing company. He lived from 1813 to 1888 and played a significant role in popularizing affordable art prints for the masses.
The name Nathanial has a rich historical legacy, rooted in Biblical times and carried through the ages by numerous influential individuals. Its meaning as a "gift of God" has resonated across cultures and time periods, making it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with a profound religious and historical significance.
People
Nathanial + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nathanial 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
Nathanial: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nathanial?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,723 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nathanial 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 35,252 US residents.
Is Nathanial a common name?
We classify Nathanial 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, 10,545 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nathanial most popular?
The single biggest year for Nathanial was 1999, when 371 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nathanial is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nathanial a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nathanial 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.
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.