Where does the name Nathan come from?

Nathan originates from Hebrew. The underlying meaning is 'he gave; God has given'.

How popular is the name Nathan?

In the most recent published year, Nathan ranks #31 in United States, #4 in France.

How do you pronounce Nathan?

Nathan is pronounced NAY-thun (IPA: /ˈneɪ.θən/).

Nathan

NAY-thun /ˈneɪ.θən/

Boy Hebrew ModernTraditional Classic top 100 Stable — holding rank year on year

Meaning of Nathan

Root meaning "he gave; God has given"

Nathan comes from the Hebrew נָתָן (Natan), meaning 'he gave' or 'God has given.' In the Hebrew Bible, Nathan is a prophet under King David who confronts the king over his affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12) — one of the most dramatic prophetic confrontations in scripture. The name is distinct from Nathaniel (a longer compound form) but shares the same verbal root.

Current popularity of Nathan

Rankings from the most recent fully-published year in each national registry. Source links at the foot of the page.

Registry	Year	Rank
United States (SSA)	2024	#31
France (INSEE)	2024	#4

Notable bearers of Nathan

Nathan (Hebrew Bible prophet); Nathan Hale (American Revolution spy); Nathan Fillion (actor).

Similar names & variants

Cognates, spelling variants and close relatives. Click any name with an underline to read its own page.

NathanielNatNateNatan

Sibling-name suggestions

Names that pair stylistically with Nathan — useful as middle names or for siblings.

Elijah Caleb Hannah Abigail Samuel

About this entry

Compiled by the Baby Name Finder editorial team following the rules in our Methodology and Editorial guidelines. If you spot an error, please tell us; our corrections policy is at /editorial-guidelines#corrections.

Sources

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/

Last reviewed: 2026-05-31