Nathen
A masculine name from the Hebrew 'Natan', meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5,728 living Americans carry the first name Nathen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nathen today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nathen births was 2006 (255 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nathen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nathen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.7K
~ 1 in 59,838 Americans
Peak year
2006
255 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,364
Tracked since 1902
Census
Nathen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,856 people with the first name Nathen, which placed it at #4,003 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,003
National first-name rank
People counted
4.9K
4,856 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nathen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nathen is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nathen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nathen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.0% · 3,009
- Hispanic or Latino23.1% · 1,124
- Two or more races5.3% · 257
- Black or African American4.9% · 239
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 163
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 64
Popularity
Nathen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nathen from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,186 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nathen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nathen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nathens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Nathen, while South Carolina, Louisiana, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 98 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nathen
The name Nathen has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "natan," which means "he gave" or "gift from God." The name was popular among the Jewish community and was often given to male children as a symbol of gratitude and divine blessing.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Nathen can be found in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Samuel. In this text, Nathen was the name of a prophet who played a significant role in the life of King David. He is known for delivering God's message to David regarding the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Throughout history, the name Nathen has been adopted and adapted by various cultures, leading to slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. For instance, in ancient Greece, the name was spelled as "Nathanael," while in Latin, it became "Nathaniel."
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Nathen was Nathen the Prophet, who lived in the 10th century BCE and was a prominent figure in the Bible. Another notable figure was Nathen of Gaza, a Greek grammarian and philosopher who lived in the 5th century CE and made significant contributions to the study of language and rhetoric.
During the Middle Ages, the name Nathen was popular among Christian communities, particularly in Europe. One notable bearer of this name was Nathen the Wise, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and physician from Baghdad, who is best known for his work on ethics and metaphysics.
In the 16th century, Nathen Culverwell, an English theologian and author, gained recognition for his book "An Elegant and Learned Discourse on the Light of Nature." He was born in 1619 and made significant contributions to the field of natural theology.
In the 19th century, Nathen Rothschild, a member of the renowned Rothschild banking family, was born in 1840. He played a crucial role in the family's financial empire and was known for his philanthropic endeavors.
Another notable figure from the 19th century was Nathen Bedford Forrest, a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. He was born in 1821 and gained notoriety for his military tactics and controversial actions during the war.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Nathen, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Nathen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nathen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nathen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nathen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,728 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nathen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 59,838 US residents.
Is Nathen a common name?
We classify Nathen as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nathen most popular?
The single biggest year for Nathen was 2006, when 255 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nathen is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nathen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,856 people with the name Nathen, or 1.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,003 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nathen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nathen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nathen appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,861 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nathen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nathen is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nathen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nathen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (3,009 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nathen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nathen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nathen in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nathen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nathen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nathen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Nathen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.