Nazareth
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "consecrated, dedicated, vowed".
Name Census estimates that about 2,228 living Americans carry the first name Nazareth. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Nazareth today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nazareth births was 2023 (156 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nazareth. 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
- • Nazareth sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Nazareth is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 153,839 Americans
Peak year
2023
156 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,019
Tracked since 1920
Gender
Gender distribution for Nazareth
Nazareth is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,283 total registrations, 1,151 (50.4%) were male and 1,132 (49.6%) were female.
Nazareth as a male name
- Ranked #2,727 in 2024
- 48 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (50 births)
Nazareth as a female name
- Ranked #2,019 in 2024
- 97 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (107 births)
Popularity
Nazareth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nazareth from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 788 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nazareth 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 Nazareth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nazareths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Nazareth, while Georgia, Arizona, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nazareth
The name Nazareth originates from the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, derived from the place name "Nazareth" which means "town" or "village." The name is associated with the biblical city of Nazareth in Galilee, where Jesus Christ is said to have grown up according to the New Testament.
The name Nazareth is first mentioned in the Bible, specifically in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is closely tied to the life of Jesus, who is often referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth" or "the Nazarene." The name gained significance due to its connection with Christianity and the life of Jesus.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nazareth can be found in the writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who lived in the 1st century AD. He referred to the town of Nazareth in his works, indicating that it was a small village during the time of Jesus.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nazareth, although it is not a common given name. One of the most famous individuals with this name is Saint Nazarius (circa 258-304 AD), a Christian martyr who was beheaded during the Diocletianic Persecution in Milan.
Another notable figure is Nazareth Paul Obadiah (1826-1900), a prominent American educator and abolitionist who established several schools for African Americans in the post-Civil War era.
In the 20th century, Nazareth Faderlick (1911-1985) was a Ukrainian-American painter and printmaker known for her avant-garde artwork and association with the New York City art scene.
Nazareth Berrill (1923-2010) was a British zoologist and marine biologist who made significant contributions to the study of invertebrate embryology and development.
Nazareth Tañón (born 1976) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter, known for her contributions to Latin pop and urban music genres.
It is important to note that while the name Nazareth is rooted in biblical and historical contexts, its usage as a given name has been relatively rare throughout history, likely due to its strong association with the place name and its religious significance.
People
Nazareth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nazareth 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
Nazareth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nazareth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nazareth 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 153,839 US residents.
Is Nazareth a common name?
We classify Nazareth as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,283 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nazareth most popular?
The single biggest year for Nazareth was 2023, when 156 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nazareth is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nazareth a male name?
Yes, 50.4% of people registered as Nazareth 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.