Nathan

#14,942 for girls in 2025, 5 births · #63 for boys in 2025, 4,975 births
Given to boys 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
2004 · 14,634 births
Debut · boys
114 births
In top 100 · boys
54 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
587,497
since 1880

Nathan over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201988peak #20, 2004boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#14,9425#634,975
2024#11,1228#625,029
2023#595,073
2022#13,5926#575,544
2021#13,4646#595,432
2020#555,702
2019#556,090
2018#9,80610#486,850
2017#11,6158#457,442
2016#14,3316#438,000
2015#10,8669#388,600
2014#10,9559#388,997
2013#11,0009#319,721
2012#7,45616#2910,431
2011#9,72311#2810,523
2010#11,2469#2711,380
2009#7,34117#2512,135
2008#8,52914#2113,262
2007#7,09218#2413,605
2006#5,90622#2314,278
2005#4,26732#2014,365
2004#2,65262#2014,634
2003#4,80426#2613,667
2002#4,28029#2813,224
2001#6,06718#3112,647
2000#6,80815#3013,040
1999#5,42419#3212,538
1998#9,2609#3411,586
1997#6,16315#3410,442
1996#4,30624#3710,287
1995#5,01919#3910,306
1994#3,30234#4010,386
1993#3,87727#4110,199
1992#4,84920#4410,154
1991#3,72228#4210,500
1990#4,00325#4410,934
1989#2,61843#4310,904
1988#2,44744#4410,154
1987#1,86062#459,910
1986#1,80263#439,996
1985#1,42489#4010,653
1984#1,55073#3810,614
1983#1,37986#4010,557
1982#1,65369#3610,805
1981#1,66369#3611,256
1980#1,55275#3611,138
1979#1,73163#3710,719
1978#1,76558#369,890
1977#2,06346#369,886
1976#1,99644#398,611
1975#2,23237#457,069
1974#2,61628#525,844
1973#2,83024#634,734
1972#2,74725#793,512
1971#3,50818#1043,047
1970#4,49212#1302,545
1969#4,19812#1541,908
1968#3,78913#1631,654
1967#5,4577#1801,432
1966#1791,422
1965#4,8318#1811,417
1964#1881,500
1963#6,5925#1941,540
1962#1981,532
1961#4,8828#1991,489
1960#5,1687#1901,630
1959#4,3009#2071,378
1958#3,74711#2141,237
1957#6,0865#2151,225
1956#2221,099
1955#5,2086#232950
1954#225959
1953#237806
1952#229851
1951#222870
1950#243751
1949#251660
1948#263620
1947#273617
1946#271557
1945#267488
1944#262507
1943#4,6915#244581
1942#253523
1941#243527
1940#243497
1939#3,4297#246468
1938#232515
1937#258434
1936#243464
1935#248468
1934#245469
1933#259413
1932#243486
1931#3,4977#258442
1930#4,0476#234540
1929#3,1379#239513
1928#235548
1927#3,8757#210636
1926#206669
1925#4,9735#219615
1924#204680
1923#187739
1922#5,0095#185749
1921#4,0237#186751
1920#172815
1919#156849
1918#150945
1917#4,0836#148881
1916#143904
1915#3,7956#139916
1914#124848
1913#127615
1912#120581
1911#108348
1910#135245
1909#128209
1908#137178
1907#136176
1906#139148
1905#130168
1904#148131
1903#128146
1902#135143
1901#127131
1900#125186
1899#141112
1898#16699
1897#119139
1896#150110
1895#136119
1894#125127
1893#131114
1892#118144
1891#130106
1890#130110
1889#116121
1888#123129
1887#124106
1886#114136
1885#132103
1884#140100
1883#13293
1882#124113
1881#13691
1880#115114
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Nathan was already there! It came in at #115, and was given to 114 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1891, when fewer than 140 boys a year got the name.

See more about Nathan
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 1 spot since 2024 (#62#63)
  • 8 spots since 2020 (#55#63)
  • 25 spots since 2015 (#38#63)
  • Biggest jump: 31 spots in 1897 (#150#119)
  • Biggest drop: 47 spots in 1898 (#119#166)
Rise & fade · boys
124 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 2004 at #20 (14,634 births)
  • Births halved by 2018, 14 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 54 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 54 yrs · run 1972–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 136
  • Highest: 1 in 136 boys born in 2004 were named Nathan (0.74%)
  • Latest: 1 in 343 boys born in 2025 (0.29%)
Era · boys
The 2000s
  • 23.0% of all boys named Nathan (134,857) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s1,106#114 (1886)#126
1890s1,180#118 (1892)#135
1900s1,616#125 (1900)#133
1910s7,132#108 (1911)#135
1920s6,715#172 (1920)#204
1930s4,699#232 (1938)#247
1940s5,577#243 (1941)#257
1950s10,126#207 (1959)#225
1960s15,524#154 (1969)#183
1970s65,857#36 (1978)#62
1980s105,987#36 (1981)#40
1990s107,332#32 (1999)#39
2000s134,857#20 (2004)#25
2010s88,034#27 (2010)#38
2020s31,755#55 (2020)#59

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Nathan in 1988

girls
#2,447
44 births · 1 in 40,474 girls
boys
#44
10,154 births · 1 in 189 boys

Top girls' names in 1988

  1. #1Jessica51,556
  2. #2Ashley49,977
  3. #3Amanda39,459
  4. #4Sarah28,374
  5. #5Jennifer27,893
  6. #6Brittany26,816
  7. #7Stephanie22,843
  8. #8Samantha20,700
  9. #9Nicole20,315
  10. #10Elizabeth20,042
  11. #2,447Nathan44

Top boys' names in 1988

  1. #1Michael64,171
  2. #2Christopher53,014
  3. #3Matthew45,876
  4. #4Joshua42,653
  5. #5Andrew35,745
  6. #6David35,329
  7. #7Justin35,055
  8. #8Daniel34,718
  9. #9James32,523
  10. #10Robert30,319
  11. #44Nathan10,154
More about 1988

girls

1,780,854 girls got a published name in 1988; 1 in 40,474 of them was named Nathan, which outranked 82.4% of the 13,883 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nathan
  1. #2,419Treasure45
  2. #2,419Turquoise45
  3. #2,419Windy45
  4. #2,447Nathan44
  5. #2,447Allisha44
  6. #2,447Annastasia44
  7. #2,447Bethann44
  8. #2,489Adriene43
  9. #2,489Aislinn43
  10. #2,489Andre43

Tied with 41 names at #2,447; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1987
Risers
  1. 2,890Jalissa#3,857#967
  2. 2,381Taja#3,101#720
  3. 1,710Whitley#2,156#446
  4. 1,225Jalisa#1,662#437
  5. 883Jaleesa#1,227#344
Fallers
  1. 620Channing#590#1,210
  2. 346Denisse#954#1,300
  3. 319Jeana#966#1,285
  4. 314Eliana#826#1,140
  5. 311Nakia#893#1,204

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,914,283 boys got a published name in 1988; 1 in 189 of them was named Nathan, which outranked 99.5% of the 8,495 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 21.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nathan
  1. #41Travis11,423
  2. #42Patrick11,400
  3. #43Cody10,583
  4. #44Nathan10,154
  5. #45Samuel9,564
  6. #46Paul9,438
  7. #47Scott9,351
Biggest movers since 1987
Risers
  1. 3,252Nico#4,239#987
  2. 1,245Ridge#2,215#970
  3. 668Colten#1,484#816
  4. 600Brantley#1,587#987
  5. 518Long#1,337#819
Fallers
  1. 362Cordaro#908#1,270
  2. 246Ramsey#884#1,130
  3. 241Yaakov#974#1,215
  4. 233Adrain#990#1,223
  5. 230Kiel#846#1,076

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1988