Nathan

Hebrew
"given"

Nathan Origin and Meaning

The name Nathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "given".

Nathan is an Old Testament name that's ranked among the Top 100 names for boys for 50 years, and could well stay there for another 50. Strong, solid, and attractive, It's a name familiar to every schoolchild through Nathan Hale, the Revolutionary War spy.

Nathan was derived from the name Natan, which came from Hebrew verb natan, meaning "gave." In the Old Testament, Nathan was the name of a prophet and also that of one of King David's sons. Nathaniel and Jonathan are related names.

Along with the US, Nathan ranks in the Top 100 throughout the English-speaking world as well as in France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Nat and Nate (as featured on TV shows like Six Feet Under and Gossip Girl) are just the kind of friendly, old-fashioned nicknames that are now very much in style.

Nathans have starred in some classic films — it was the name of the character played by Kevin Kline in Sophie's Choice, by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, and Frank Sinatra was Nathan Detroit in the film version of Guys and Dolls. Nathan Zuckerman is the protagonist of several novels by Philip Roth.

In the public eye right now is Nathan Fillion, who portrays TV's Castle. Nathan was chosen for his son by Jon Stewart.

# 59 in the US

Nathan Rank in US Top 1000

# 177 on Nameberry

Nathan Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Nathan Popularity

Famous People Named Nathan

  • Nathan
    Biblical prophet
  • Nathan of Zobah
    father of one of David's mighty men (2 Samuel 23:36)
  • Nathan
    brother of Joel, a valiant man in David's armies (1 Chr. 11:38)
  • Nathan
    Biblical son of David and Bathsheba
  • Nathan
    mentioned in Ezra 8:16
  • Nathan Hale
    American revolutionary
  • Nathan Karl Kress
    American actor
  • Joseph "Nathan" Lane
    American actor
  • Nathan Page
    Australian actor
  • Nathan James Sykes
    English singer of band The Wanted
  • Nathan Ghar
    jun Adrian, American Olympic swimmer
  • Nathan Russell Horton
    Canadian NHL Hockey player
  • Nathan Christopher Fillion
    Canadian actor
  • (Ivan) Nathan Followill
    American musician of band Kings of Leon
  • Nathan William Hindmarsh
    Australian Rugby League Player
  • Nathan Charles Buckley
    Australian rules footballer
  • Nathan Darmody
    American musician of band Allstar Weekend
  • Nathan Abraham Lauren Fagan
    Gayle aka Starboy Nathan, English R&B singer
  • Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison
    American drummer of band Slipknot
  • Lars Olof Jonathan "Nathan" Söderblom
    Swedish bishop; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
  • Nathan Lithgow
    son of American actor John Lithgow
  • Nathan Hawes
    Australian pop singer
  • Nathan Cole Som
    American child model
  • Nathan Furst
    American composer; son of actor Stephen Furst
  • Nathan Mandrell
    son of singer Barbara Mandrell
  • Nathan Howsmon Davis
    son of singer Jonathan Davis
  • Kenneth Nathaniel "Nathan" Bates
    5th child (3rd son) of reality TV's "Bringing Up Bates" family
  • Nathan Chen
    American Olympic figure skater
  • Nathan Anderson
    son of actor/comedian Anthony Anderson
  • Nathan Garson (adopted 2009)
    son of actor Willie Garson
  • Nathan Fields
    son of model/TV personality Janice Dickinson and Simon Fields
  • Nathan Carroll
    son of NFL coach Pete Carroll
  • Nathan Powell Holroyd (b. 2011)
    son of actors Scott Holroyd and Allison Munn
  • Nathan Sileshi (b. 2015)
    son of runners Tirunesh Dibaba and Sileshi Sihine
  • Nathan Fielder
    Canadian writer and comedian
  • Nathan "Nate" Fuerestein
    American rapper
  • Nathan Ake
    Dutch professional footballer
  • Nathan Joel Foley
    Australian singer and children's presenter
  • Nathan George Harrison
    British adult entertainer

Nathan in Pop Culture

  • Nathan
    main character in short story "Earth Inherited" by author Justine Avery
  • Nathan Detroit
    main character in musical "Guys & Dolls"
  • Nathan Zuckerman
    character in novels by Philip Roth
  • Nathan
    unseen conqueror in webcomic "The Silver Eye" by Laura Hollingsworth
  • Nathan Ford
    character on TV's "Leverage"
  • Nathan Byrn
    character in Sally Green's "Half Life Trilogy"
  • Nathan Royal Scott
    main character on TV's "One Tree Hill"
  • Nathan Petrelli
    character on TV's "Heroes"
  • Nathan McHugh
    character on TV's "Flight 29 Down"
  • Nathan Rhodes
    character in movie "Bridesmaids"
  • Nathan Goldfrappe
    character in movie "The Invention of Lying"
  • Nathan Clay
    character on TV's "Alphas"
  • Nathan Drake
    main character in the Uncharted video game series
  • Nathan Wournos
    character on TV's "Haven"
  • Nathan Dawkins
    character in video game "Beyond: Two Souls"
  • Prince Nathan
    Val's son in comic strip Prince Valiant
  • "Nathan the Wise
    " 1779 play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
  • Nathan Algren
    main character in film "The Last Samurai"
  • Captain Nathan Bridger
    character on TV's "Seaquest DSV"
  • Nathan Copeland
    character in video game No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle"
  • Nathan Explosion
    character in animated series "Metalocalypse"
  • Nathan Grantham
    character in movie "Creepshow"
  • Nathan Graves
    main character in video game series "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon"
  • Nathan Hale
    main character in video game "Resistance"
  • Nathan Horton
    minor character on American soap "Days of Our Lives"
  • Nathan Landau
    character in "Sophie's Choice" by William Styron
  • "Nathan Never
    " Italian comic book series
  • Nathan Sims
    character in Australian mockumentary "We Can Be Heroes"
  • Nathan Stark
    character on TV's "Eureka"
  • Nathan Summers
    character in X,Men comics
  • Nathan Young
    character on TV show "Misfits"
  • "Nathan for You
    " show on Comedy Central
  • Nathan Riggs
    character on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
  • Nathan “Nate” Cosay
    character in the animated series “Infinity Train”