Nathan
Top 1000
About Nathan
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.
Pronounced NAY-thun.
As of October 2026, Nathan ranked #63 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #20 in 2005, Nameberry popularity #148.
Editor's take: The name Nathan is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "given".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #38 | 8,995 | 4,682.8 |
| 2015 | #38 | 8,599 | 4,486.3 |
| 2016 | #43 | 8,000 | 4,215.5 |
| 2017 | #45 | 7,441 | 4,020.1 |
| 2018 | #48 | 6,850 | 3,771.7 |
| 2019 | #55 | 6,087 | 3,392.6 |
| 2020 | #55 | 5,700 | 3,302.3 |
| 2021 | #59 | 5,431 | 3,104.3 |
| 2022 | #57 | 5,539 | 3,172.4 |
| 2023 | #59 | 5,066 | 2,961.6 |
| 2024 | #62 | 5,010 | 2,907.9 |
| 2025 | #63 | 4,975 | 2,912.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Nathan.
- Jacob
- Zachary
- Joshua
- Matthew
- Andrew
- Adam
- Daniel
- Aaron
- Luke
- Michael
- Ethan
- Nicholas
- Christian
- Anthony
- Christopher
- Jonathan
- Isaac
- Caleb
- Ian
- David
Nathan on lists
Famous Nathans
- 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”
- Nathan “Nate” Hawkins
character in “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace