How Many People Are Named Nathaniel?
An estimated 250,327 people in the United States have the first name Nathaniel. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #203 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 31 years old, and Nathaniel peaked in popularity in 2002 with 6,829 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nathaniel 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 Nathaniel paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Nathaniel is overwhelmingly male, 1,162 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
250,327
About 1 in 1,369 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
31
years old
Peak Year
2002
6,829 births
Total Registered
285,643
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nathaniel
Nathaniel is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 285,643 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Nathaniel as a male name
Ranked #144 in 2024
2,511 male births in 2024
Peak: 2002 (6,813 births)
Nathaniel as a female name
Ranked #14,794 in 2022
6 female births in 2022
Peak: 1986 (37 births)
Nathaniel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nathaniel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 64,387 babies were registered. Nathaniel has declined significantly from its peak in the 2000s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nathaniel by Decade
How has Nathaniel 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 | 551 | 551 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 684 | 684 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 1,143 | 1,143 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 4,813 | 4,795 | 18 | |
| 1920s | 7,847 | 7,794 | 53 | |
| 1930s | 7,472 | 7,411 | 61 | |
| 1940s | 9,561 | 9,490 | 71 | |
| 1950s | 12,516 | 12,388 | 128 | |
| 1960s | 10,296 | 10,192 | 104 | |
| 1970s | 19,363 | 19,185 | 178 | |
| 1980s | 38,924 | 38,650 | 274 | |
| 1990s | 52,680 | 52,576 | 104 | |
| 2000s | 64,387 | 64,259 | 128 | |
| 2010s | 41,906 | 41,875 | 31 | |
| 2020s | 13,500 | 13,488 | 12 | |
Nathaniel by State
Birth registrations for Nathaniel span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota. On average, about 5,495 Nathaniels were registered per state.
Nathaniel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nathaniel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nathaniel
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nathaniel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nathaniel?
We estimate approximately 250,327 people named Nathaniel 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 1,369 Americans share this first name.
Is Nathaniel a common name?
Nathaniel is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 285,643 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nathaniel most popular?
Nathaniel reached peak popularity in 2002, when 6,829 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nathaniel is approximately 31 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nathaniel a male name?
Nathaniel is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nathaniel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nathaniel Smith, Nathaniel Johnson, Nathaniel 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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