How Many People Are Named Nathan?
An estimated 541,143 people in the United States have the first name Nathan. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #77 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 30 years old, and Nathan peaked in popularity in 2004 with 14,695 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Adam (540,647).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nathan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Nathan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Nathan is overwhelmingly male, 1,769 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
541,143
About 1 in 633 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
30
years old
Peak Year
2004
14,695 births
Total Registered
584,253
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nathan
Nathan is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 584,253 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Nathan as a male name
Ranked #62 in 2024
5,010 male births in 2024
Peak: 2004 (14,633 births)
Nathan as a female name
Ranked #11,807 in 2024
8 female births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (89 births)
Nathan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nathan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 135,107 babies were registered. Nathan has declined significantly from its peak in the 2000s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nathan by Decade
How has Nathan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,106 | 1,106 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 1,180 | 1,180 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 1,616 | 1,616 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 7,144 | 7,132 | 12 | |
| 1920s | 6,748 | 6,715 | 33 | |
| 1930s | 4,719 | 4,699 | 20 | |
| 1940s | 5,582 | 5,577 | 5 | |
| 1950s | 10,158 | 10,127 | 31 | |
| 1960s | 15,587 | 15,527 | 60 | |
| 1970s | 66,223 | 65,868 | 355 | |
| 1980s | 106,667 | 105,994 | 673 | |
| 1990s | 107,539 | 107,319 | 220 | |
| 2000s | 135,107 | 134,854 | 253 | |
| 2010s | 88,111 | 88,024 | 87 | |
| 2020s | 26,766 | 26,746 | 20 | |
Nathan by State
Birth registrations for Nathan span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Ohio. The lowest are in Wyoming, Delaware, Vermont. On average, about 11,315 Nathans were registered per state.
Nathan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nathan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nathan
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nathan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nathan?
We estimate approximately 541,143 people named Nathan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 633 Americans share this first name.
Is Nathan a common name?
Nathan is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 584,253 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nathan most popular?
Nathan reached peak popularity in 2004, when 14,695 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nathan is approximately 30 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nathan a male name?
Nathan is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nathan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nathan Smith, Nathan Johnson, Nathan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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