2010
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Natanov
A derived possessive surname of Nata, a short form for feminine names like Natalia.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Natanov. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Natanov surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Natanov in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Natanov, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Natanov
The surname NATANOV is of Russian origin, believed to have emerged in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Russian word "natan," meaning "given" or "bestowed," combined with the Slavic patronymic suffix "-ov." This suggests that the name may have originally been given to someone whose name was "Natan," or a variation thereof.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the NATANOV surname can be found in the Velvet Book, a historical document from the Duchy of Moscow dating back to the late 16th century. The name is listed among the nobility and landowners of the region at that time.
In the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing the NATANOV surname was Ivan Natanov, a Russian military officer who served under Peter the Great. He was born in 1677 and played a significant role in the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1711.
Another notable individual with this last name was Nikolai Natanov, a Russian writer and journalist who lived from 1839 to 1905. He was known for his literary works and his contributions to various publications of the time.
During the 19th century, the NATANOV surname was also found in some historical records from the Ukrainian region, suggesting that the name had spread beyond its initial Russian roots.
One of the earliest known instances of the NATANOV surname in the United States can be traced back to the late 19th century, when a family by that name immigrated from Russia to New York City in the 1880s.
Amongst the more recent historical figures with the NATANOV surname is Mikhail Natanov, a Russian-born mathematician who lived from 1898 to 1965. He made significant contributions to the field of functional analysis and taught at various universities in the Soviet Union.
It is worth noting that variations of the spelling, such as NATANOFF or NATANOW, may have existed in different regions or time periods, reflecting the evolution and localization of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Natanov
Among Census respondents with the surname Natanov, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Natanov bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Natanov surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 87
- Two or more races16.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.2% · 11
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Natanov
Natanov appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-21 bearers (-15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-15.0%) | Down 19,724 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Natanov surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #123,064 | #142,788 | -16.0% |
| Count | 140 | 119 | -15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Natanov bearers went from 140 to 119 (-15.0% change). The surname moved down 19,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #142,788.
FAQ
Natanov surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Natanov?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Natanov. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Natanov?
Natanov ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Natanov. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Natanov.
Has Natanov become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Natanov went from 140 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 21 (-15.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Natanov?
Among Census respondents with the surname Natanov, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Natanov in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Natanov appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.1%), Two or More Races (16.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Natanov (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Natanov mean?
A derived possessive surname of Nata, a short form for feminine names like Natalia. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Natanov (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Natanov?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Natanov, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.