Nathaniel: Meaning, origin and popularity

Pronounced nuh-THAN-yuhl · 3 syllables

Nathaniel means “gift of God”, from Hebrew.

Modification, under influence of Daniel, of Nathanael, from Ancient Greek (Nathanael), from Biblical Hebrew (Netan'el, literally “God has given”).

How popular is Nathaniel?

Nathaniel was the #140 name in the US in 2025, given to 2,565 babies. It’s used less than it was: down 42% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 2000.

Babies named Nathaniel in the US by five-year period, relative to its peak (around 2000).

Half of US adults named Nathaniel are older than 33; most are between 19 and 72. (Estimated from US births by year and life tables.)

Names that real brothers and sisters of people named Nathaniel have, from family records on Wikidata, most common first.

Chosen by the same families or with a similar style and era.

Nathaniel means “gift of God”. It comes from Hebrew.

Nathaniel is pronounced nuh-THAN-yuhl.

Nathaniel was the #140 name in the US in 2025, given to 2,565 babies. It’s used less than it was: down 42% on 2011–2015. It peaked around 2000.

Half of US adults named Nathaniel are older than 33. Most are between 19 and 72.