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Nathaniel

Gender
Boy
Say it
na-THAN-yel
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#154 for boys
US rank, 2025
#140 for boys

Nathaniel is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God has given”. In 2025 it ranked 154th for boys in the UK (384 babies) and 140th for boys in the US (2,565 babies).

What does Nathaniel mean?

Hebrew: from Hebrew Netanel

“God has given”

Borne by the American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter; the biblical Nathanael was one of Jesus' disciples.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Nathaniel a girl's or a boy's name?

Nathaniel is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 384 boys in the UK and 2,565 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Nathaniel in the UK?

Rank in 2025
154th among boys
Babies in 2025
384 about 1 in 780 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 15% in five years
Same name in a class
1.8% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 384 boys in the UK were named Nathaniel, making it the 154th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 158th. Its busiest year was 2011, with 567 boys.

Half of all the boys named Nathaniel in the UK since 1996 were born between 2004 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

In 2025, 421 boys in the UK were given Nathaniel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #157.

Among boys in 2025, it was 149th in England and Wales, 269th in Scotland and 212th in Northern Ireland.

1996Busiest: 567 in 20112025
Nathaniel in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025384#154
2024398#148
2023324#175
2022389#154
2021368#164
2020390#158
2019442#147
2018469#140
2017439#150
2016505#136
2015547#126
2014511#135
2013499#135
2012564#128
2011567#129
2010522#133
2009526#128
2008498#130
2007444#141
2006414#145
2005472#133
2004504#126
2003462#125
2002416#131
2001361#136
2000346#133
1999423#124
1998341#136
1997347#135
1996345#133

How popular is Nathaniel in the US?

Rank in 2025
140th among boys
Babies in 2025
2,565 about 1 in 670 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 19% in five years
Same name in a class
2.1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 2,565 boys in the US were named Nathaniel, making it the 140th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 125th. Its busiest year was 2002, with 6,813 boys.

Half of all the boys named Nathaniel in the US since 1880 were born between 1979 and 2007, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 3,040 boys in the US were given Nathaniel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #130, up from #140 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 6,813 in 20022025
Nathaniel in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20252,565#140
20242,520#144
20232,533#143
20222,706#138
20212,834#133
20202,930#125
20193,097#122
20183,391#116
20173,541#112
20163,887#103
20154,234#96
20144,317#94
20134,538#91
20124,795#84
20114,980#84
20105,110#81
20095,426#75
20085,858#77
20076,067#82
20066,627#69
20056,689#67
20046,675#68
20036,666#63
20026,813#62
20016,646#61
20006,797#61
19996,467#62
19986,427#60
19975,775#65
19965,420#69
19955,203#73
19945,029#78
19934,854#75
19924,687#79
19914,367#84
19904,348#86
19894,121#84
19884,054#81
19874,050#78
19864,032#78
19854,004#77
19843,600#80
19833,641#79
19823,939#74
19813,719#80
19803,492#86
19793,040#95
19782,925#94
19772,500#107
19762,209#114
19751,957#131
19741,609#153
19731,391#169
19721,208#192
19711,210#200
19701,136#218
1969991#231
1968921#235
1967976#226
1966903#235
19651,071#223
19641,023#236
19631,026#233
19621,085#234
19611,049#244
19601,146#239
19591,159#235
19581,102#235
19571,262#213
19561,309#205
19551,334#195
19541,228#203
19531,267#193
19521,258#188
19511,247#187
19501,223#182
19491,192#179
19481,159#180
19471,100#187
1946977#186
1945853#181
1944864#183
1943839#191
1942843#188
1941829#182
1940833#176
1939770#183
1938749#186
1937703#186
1936738#179
1935747#180
1934782#174
1933728#178
1932781#176
1931659#199
1930754#185
1929760#184
1928728#193
1927769#187
1926821#176
1925810#178
1924800#179
1923721#193
1922800#175
1921748#187
1920837#166
1919748#174
1918661#193
1917640#189
1916590#193
1915554#197
1914470#185
1913337#201
1912356#163
1911207#161
1910232#139
1909143#172
1908150#159
1907124#174
1906101#177
1905117#167
1904105#174
1903105#165
190288#189
190192#163
1900118#176
189972#189
189890#175
189743#272
189673#206
189572#199
189477#192
189358#224
189278#196
189146#237
189075#178
188948#233
188863#221
188757#203
188659#220
188554#220
188456#221
188349#221
188257#217
188148#220
188060#200

Nicknames for Nathaniel

Names like Nathaniel

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Gabriel, Raphael, Zachary, Noah, Jacob, Isaiah, Elijah, Toby, Tobias, Elias, Nathan, Isaac

Other spellings of Nathaniel

Nathanael, Nathanial

Names related to Nathaniel

Nataniel, Natnael, Natanael, Nathaneal, Natanel, Nathanel

More Hebrew names

Isabella, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Mateo, Elsie, Levi, Eliana, Joseph

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Nathaniel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nathaniel, updated 20 October 2026.