Nethan
A Hebrew name meaning "gift of God" or "given by God."
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the first name Nethan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nethan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nethan births was 2024 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nethan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nethan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
114
~ 1 in 3,006,617 Americans
Peak year
2024
13 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,693
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Nethan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nethan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 52 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nethan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nethan 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 Nethan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nethans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nethan
The name Nethan is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Nathan, which means "he gave" or "gift of God." The name can be traced back to ancient Hebrew texts, particularly the Old Testament of the Bible.
In the Book of Samuel, Nathan was a prominent prophet during the reign of King David. He played a crucial role in confronting David after the king's affair with Bathsheba and delivering God's message of judgment and forgiveness. Nathan's wisdom and courage in standing up to the powerful King David have made him a revered figure in Jewish and Christian traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nethan was in the 12th century. Nethan ben Yeshaya was a Jewish philosopher and scholar from Catalonia, Spain, who lived between 1035 and 1110 CE. He wrote commentaries on various Jewish texts and was known for his contributions to Jewish philosophy during the Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain.
Another notable figure with the name Nethan was Nethan'el Nata' Hakapusi, a Karaite Jewish scholar from Crimea who lived in the 17th century. He authored several works on Karaite law and Hebrew grammar, making significant contributions to the Karaite literary tradition.
In the 18th century, Nethan'el Weisel (1687-1772) was a prominent Talmudic scholar and rabbi from Poland. He served as the head of the Jewish community in Zamość and was renowned for his vast knowledge of Jewish law and tradition.
Nethan Tarn (1920-2005) was a British historian and academic who specialized in the study of medieval religious and intellectual history. He held prestigious positions at various universities, including the University of Cambridge, and authored several influential works on topics such as heresy and medieval thought.
While the name Nethan may not have been as widespread as its biblical counterpart Nathan, it has appeared throughout history in various cultural and religious contexts, often associated with scholarly pursuits and intellectual endeavors.
People
Nethan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nethan 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
Nethan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nethan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 114 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nethan 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 3,006,617 US residents.
Is Nethan a common name?
We classify Nethan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nethan most popular?
The single biggest year for Nethan was 2024, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nethan is about 11 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 Nethan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nethan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nethan 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 Nethan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nethan 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 Nethan 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 have the name Nethan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.