Nthan
Variant spelling of the given name Nathan, from Hebrew meaning "he gave".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Nthan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nthan today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nthan births was 1984 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nthan. 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 Nthan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1984
5 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1984 SSA rank
#7,025
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Nthan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Nthan 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 Nthan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Nthan
Nthan is a name with origins that can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, where it was derived from the Akkadian words "nunu" and "thanu," meaning "fish" and "life," respectively. The combination of these words was believed to signify the abundance and prosperity associated with the fertile lands near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nthan can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem that dates back to around 2100 BC. In this work, a character named Nthan-ilu is mentioned as a wise and revered elder of the city of Uruk.
During the Babylonian era, which spanned from around 1894 BC to 539 BC, the name Nthan gained popularity among the ruling class and was often associated with individuals of high social status. One notable figure from this period was Nthan-apil-Marduk, a prominent scholar and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of the Babylonian calendar.
As the influence of Mesopotamian culture spread throughout the ancient world, the name Nthan also found its way into other civilizations. In ancient Greece, a philosopher named Nthan of Miletus, who lived around 550 BC, was renowned for his teachings on the nature of the universe and the origins of the cosmos.
During the Roman era, the name Nthan was adopted and Latinized as "Nathaniel," which means "gift of God" in Hebrew. This version of the name gained widespread popularity among early Christian communities and is mentioned in the Gospel of John as the name of one of Jesus' apostles.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the name Nthan and its variations, such as Nathaniel, remained in use across various cultures and religions. One notable figure from this period was Nthan the Wise, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and theologian who is renowned for his writings on ethics and religious tolerance.
In the 16th century, the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare immortalized the name Nthan in his play "Love's Labour's Lost," where a character named Nathaniel is portrayed as a pedantic and pompous scholar.
Other notable individuals named Nthan throughout history include Nthan Hale, an American patriot and spy during the American Revolutionary War (1755-1776), and Nthan Bedford Forrest, a controversial Confederate general during the American Civil War (1821-1877).
People
Nthan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nthan 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
Nthan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nthan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nthan 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 Nthan a common name?
We classify Nthan 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 Nthan most popular?
The single biggest year for Nthan was 1984, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nthan is about 40 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 Nthan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nthan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nthan 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 Nthan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nthan 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 Nthan 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 common is the name Nthan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Nthan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.