Nathaniel Boy
How popular is Nathaniel?
#140 boy name in 2025
2,565 baby boys were named Nathaniel in the US in 2025, making it the 140th most popular boy name.
Nathaniel popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #140 for boys (▲ 4 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 2,565 boys |
| 10-year trend | Falling (-39% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #96 in 2015, #125 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 2002 (6,813 boys) |
| Highest rank | #60 in 1998 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 2% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Nathaniel counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Nathaniel family of names ranked #150 for boys in 2025 (#155 the year before), with 2,598 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel | 2,565 | 99% |
| Nathanial | 33 | 1% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Nathaniel is most popular
Babies named Nathaniel per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- District of Columbia: 3.7 per 1,000 (54 boys)
- New Mexico: 3.0 per 1,000 (100 boys)
- Connecticut: 2.7 per 1,000 (181 boys)
- California: 2.3 per 1,000 (2,136 boys)
- New Jersey: 2.3 per 1,000 (456 boys)
Nathaniel by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 551 | #200 |
| 1890s | 684 | #175 |
| 1900s | 1,143 | #159 |
| 1910s | 4,795 | #139 |
| 1920s | 7,794 | #166 |
| 1930s | 7,411 | #174 |
| 1940s | 9,489 | #176 |
| 1950s | 12,389 | #182 |
| 1960s | 10,191 | #223 |
| 1970s | 19,185 | #94 |
| 1980s | 38,652 | #74 |
| 1990s | 52,577 | #60 |
| 2000s | 64,264 | #61 |
| 2010s | 41,890 | #81 |
| 2020s | 16,088 | #125 |
Boy names about as popular as Nathaniel
Questions
- Is Nathaniel a boy or girl name?
- Nathaniel is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Nathaniel were boys.
- How popular is the name Nathaniel?
- 2,565 baby boys were named Nathaniel in the US in 2025, making it the 140th most popular boy name.
- When was Nathaniel most popular?
- Nathaniel peaked in 2002, when 6,813 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #60 in 1998.
- How many people are named Nathaniel?
- 288,265 babies have been named Nathaniel in the US since 1880. We estimate about 249,925 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 27.
- Where is Nathaniel most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Nathaniel was most common in District of Columbia, at 3.7 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.