ninan.org

Nathan

Boys' name · Millennial-era perennial

Living in the US
~542,000 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#63 among boys
Births in 2025
4,980 589,271 since 1880
Typical age
27 years, median

Nathan popularity over time

Nathan rank by birth year, 1880–2025Nathan ranked #115 in 1880 and #63 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #20, in 2004.#100#63best #20 in 200418901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 2004: 14,696 births recorded as Nathan. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. It has held a top-100 place in 54 separate years.

As of 2025 the name sits at #63, with 4,980 births that year. The ten-year change is -42%.

Babies named Nathan per yearPeaks at 14,696 births in 2004.14,696 in 2004018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Nathan?

About 542,000 people named Nathan are alive in the United States today. That is out of 589,271 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Nathan?

The typical living Nathan is 27 years old. More of them were born in the 2000s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Nathan a millennial-era perennial name.

Your Nathan

Ages of living people named NathanHalf of living Nathans are older than 27 and half younger.median 27020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Nathan is most common

The name is concentrated in Connecticut, at 2.0× the national rate. District of Columbia, Delaware and Massachusetts follow.

Where Nathan is used more than average5 states use the name Nathan more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: 2.0× the national rateCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 1.7× the national rateMDDelaware: 1.9× the national rateDEMassachusetts: 1.7× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 1.9× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Nathan is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Connecticut 864 2.0×
District of Columbia 213 1.9×
Delaware 186 1.9×
Massachusetts 1,598 1.7×
Maryland 1,433 1.7×

Nathan in England and Wales

ONS recorded 528 births named Nathan in 2025, ranking it #99.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Nathan comes from

From Hebrew נָתָן (“gave”). Also short for Jonathan.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Nathan

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Nathan Fillion Canadian-American actor 1971 56
Nathan Söderblom Swedish clergyman and archbishop 1866–1931 56
Nathan Aké Dutch footballer 1995 50
Nathan Lane American actor 1956 46
Nathan Burns Australian association football player 1988 44
Nathan Kress American actor 1992 38
Nathan Bedford Forrest Confederate States Army general 1821–1877 37
Nathan Delfouneso English association football player 1991 33
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 348 in 1911 to 581 in 1912 — 1.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/nathan.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).