Nathaniel

Last seen for girls in 2022 at #13,592 · #140 for boys in 2025, 2,565 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#60
1998 · 6,427 births
Debut · boys
1880
60 births
In top 100 · boys
38 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
287,103
since 1880

Nathaniel over time

boys

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

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201976peak #60, 1998boys
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—#1402,565
2024—#1442,520
2023—#1432,533
2022#13,5926#1382,706
2021—#1332,834
2020#13,4536#1252,930
2019—#1223,097
2018—#1163,391
2017—#1123,541
2016#14,3316#1033,887
2015—#964,234
2014—#944,317
2013#14,5826#914,538
2012—#844,795
2011#8,61413#844,980
2010#14,9596#815,110
2009#11,4599#755,426
2008#12,5798#775,858
2007#11,6309#826,067
2006#12,4208#696,627
2005#13,0107#676,689
2004#3,98935#686,675
2003#15,7845#636,666
2002#6,69816#626,813
2001#6,32217#616,646
2000#7,15814#616,797
1999#7,71612#626,467
1998#9,2609#606,427
1997#12,0706#655,775
1996#10,5677#695,420
1995#6,64113#735,203
1994#8,12210#785,029
1993#8,7199#754,854
1992#6,65213#794,687
1991#9,3368#844,367
1990#5,28617#864,348
1989#5,54515#844,121
1988#4,01522#814,054
1987#3,03131#784,050
1986#2,62037#784,032
1985#3,41925#774,004
1984#3,23326#803,600
1983#2,85330#793,641
1982#2,70434#743,939
1981#3,25326#803,719
1980#3,06928#863,492
1979#3,14726#953,040
1978#3,51221#942,925
1977#3,36622#1072,500
1976#6,6118#1142,209
1975#2,56530#1311,957
1974#4,72012#1531,609
1973#3,12221#1691,391
1972#4,52312#1921,208
1971#3,94315#2001,210
1970#4,76111#2181,136
1969#3,31817#231991
1968#4,22211#235921
1967#4,30010#226976
1966#3,55813#235903
1965#3,54913#2231,071
1964#5,0088#2361,023
1963#5,8916#2331,026
1962#4,8658#2341,085
1961#4,23910#2441,049
1960#4,7738#2391,146
1959#3,82711#2351,159
1958#3,08515#2351,102
1957#2,82317#2131,262
1956#3,69611#2051,309
1955#3,22513#1951,334
1954#3,49011#2031,228
1953#3,26912#1931,267
1952#3,04013#1881,258
1951#3,10612#1871,247
1950#2,90913#1821,223
1949#3,8928#1791,192
1948#3,13711#1801,159
1947#4,7646#1871,100
1946#3,21710#186977
1945—#181853
1944#3,1399#183864
1943#4,1966#191839
1942#4,6225#188843
1941#4,4205#182829
1940#2,57211#176833
1939#4,2505#183770
1938—#186749
1937#4,2555#186703
1936#3,1038#179738
1935#3,4317#180747
1934#3,1598#174782
1933#3,1098#178728
1932#3,2748#176781
1931#4,3315#199659
1930#3,6587#185754
1929#3,6827#184760
1928#2,62312#193728
1927#3,05310#187769
1926#4,3066#176821
1925#3,11610#178810
1924#3,6658#179800
1923—#193721
1922—#175800
1921—#187748
1920—#166837
1919#3,8177#174748
1918—#193661
1917#4,0836#189640
1916—#193590
1915#4,2745#197554
1914—#185470
1913—#201337
1912—#163356
1911—#161207
1910—#139232
1909—#172143
1908—#159150
1907—#174124
1906—#177101
1905—#167117
1904—#174105
1903—#165105
1902—#18988
1901—#16392
1900—#176118
1899—#18972
1898—#17590
1897—#27243
1896—#20673
1895—#19972
1894—#19277
1893—#22458
1892—#19678
1891—#23746
1890—#17875
1889—#23348
1888—#22163
1887—#20357
1886—#22059
1885—#22054
1884—#22156
1883—#22149
1882—#21757
1881—#22048
1880—#20060
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Nathaniel was already there! It came in at #200, and was given to 60 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1897, when fewer than 44 boys a year got the name.

See more about Nathaniel
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 4 spots since 2024 (#144 → #140)
  • 15 spots since 2020 (#125 → #140)
  • 44 spots since 2015 (#96 → #140)
  • Biggest jump: 97 spots in 1898 (#272 → #175)
  • Biggest drop: 66 spots in 1897 (#206 → #272)
Rise & fade · boys
118 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1998 at #60 (6,427 births)
  • Births halved by 2019, 21 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 38 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 38 yrs · run 1978–2015
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 285
  • Highest: 1 in 285 boys born in 2002 were named Nathaniel (0.35%)
  • Latest: 1 in 666 boys born in 2025 (0.15%)
  • Its best rank, #60 in 1998, was only 1 in 297 (0.34%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 2000s
  • 22.4% of all boys named Nathaniel (64,264) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s551#200 (1880)#218
1890s684#175 (1898)#207
1900s1,143#159 (1908)#172
1910s4,795#139 (1910)#180
1920s7,794#166 (1920)#182
1930s7,411#174 (1934)#183
1940s9,489#176 (1940)#183
1950s12,389#182 (1950)#204
1960s10,191#223 (1965)#234
1970s19,185#94 (1978)#147
1980s38,652#74 (1982)#80
1990s52,577#60 (1998)#73
2000s64,264#61 (2000)#69
2010s41,890#81 (2010)#98
2020s16,088#125 (2020)#137

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.

Nathaniel in 1976

girls
#6,611
8 births · 1 in 183,137 girls
boys
#114
2,209 births · 1 in 710 boys

Top girls' names in 1976

  1. #1Jennifer59,473
  2. #2Amy31,339
  3. #3Melissa25,094
  4. #4Heather24,192
  5. #5Angela22,038
  6. #6Michelle19,550
  7. #7Kimberly18,962
  8. #8Jessica18,368
  9. #9Lisa17,346
  10. #10Amanda15,588
  11. #6,611Nathaniel8

Top boys' names in 1976

  1. #1Michael66,915
  2. #2Jason52,643
  3. #3Christopher45,190
  4. #4David39,265
  5. #5James38,294
  6. #6John33,976
  7. #7Robert33,789
  8. #8Brian30,517
  9. #9Matthew29,951
  10. #10Daniel24,702
  11. #114Nathaniel2,209
More about 1976

girls

1,465,099 girls got a published name in 1976; 1 in 183,137 of them was named Nathaniel, which outranked 39.4% of the 10,913 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.2% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nathaniel
  1. #6,048Zarina9
  2. #6,048Zarinah9
  3. #6,048Zona9
  4. #6,611Nathaniel8
  5. #6,611Aarti8
  6. #6,611Aaryn8
  7. #6,611Addy8
  8. #7,296Abbigail7
  9. #7,296Adah7
  10. #7,296Adama7

Tied with 684 names at #6,611; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1975
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,548Rhiannon#4,141 → #593
  2. ↑ 3,533Mackenzie#4,370 → #837
  3. ↑ 3,060Khalilah#3,774 → #714
  4. ↑ 1,663Kenisha#2,612 → #949
  5. ↑ 1,455Latoria#2,411 → #956
Fallers
  1. ↓ 821Nyree#926 → #1,747
  2. ↓ 668Syreeta#778 → #1,446
  3. ↓ 505Cher#994 → #1,499
  4. ↓ 398Kandice#957 → #1,355
  5. ↓ 370Racquel#973 → #1,343

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

boys

1,569,007 boys got a published name in 1976; 1 in 710 of them was named Nathaniel, which outranked 98.2% of the 6,495 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 25.2% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nathaniel
  1. #111Jon2,323
  2. #112Christian2,268
  3. #113Lawrence2,250
  4. #114Nathaniel2,209
  5. #115Alan2,186
  6. #116Micheal2,181
  7. #117Joe2,170
Biggest movers since 1975
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,506Seneca#4,309 → #803
  2. ↑ 1,165Jameel#2,134 → #969
  3. ↑ 712Delvin#1,658 → #946
  4. ↑ 567Jerimy#1,530 → #963
  5. ↑ 510Jamaal#1,042 → #532
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,113Santino#1,000 → #2,113
  2. ↓ 511Carnell#900 → #1,411
  3. ↓ 453Nakia#337 → #790
  4. ↓ 395Charlton#938 → #1,333
  5. ↓ 376Benjiman#970 → #1,346

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

See the top 100 for 1976 →