As a variant of the first name Nathan, Nathaniel is composed of the Hebrew words ‘nathan’ for ‘give’ and ‘el’ for ‘God’. Thus the name can be translated as ‘gift of God’.
Nathaniel is a first name typically given to boys, but in rare cases also used as a girls name.
The name Nathaniel isn’t among the current fashionable names in our top 10 stats, but nonetheless, it’s still very popular and common. In our SmartGenius ranking of all boys names, Nathaniel ranks 106. Recently, out of every 10,000 newborn boys, approximately 21 were named Nathaniel. In the entire USA, approximately 273,000 people – children, adults and seniors – currently bear the name Nathaniel. That is 0.08 % of all living Americans.
As a variant of the first name Nathan, Nathaniel is composed of the Hebrew words ‘nathan’ for ‘give’ and ‘el’ for ‘God’. Thus the name can be translated as ‘gift of God’.
What is a gift? A gift is something that is given voluntarily without payment in return, to show affection, respect or gratitude. It can be a tangible object or an intangible thing such as an experience or service.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864)
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer and one of the most important representatives of American Romanticism. Hawthorne is known for his richly symbolic short stories and novels, often dealing with guilt, sin, and moral transgression. Among his best-known works are 'The Scarlet Letter' (1850), 'The House of the Seven Gables' (1851), and 'Twice-Told Tales' (1837). In his works, Hawthorne critically examined Puritanism and New England history. A master of irony, Hawthorne often used symbolic elements to explore profound moral and ethical themes.
Nathaniel Rateliff (*1978)
Rateliff began his career in the early 2000s as part of the indie folk band 'Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats'. He has released several successful albums with his band, including 'Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats' (2015) and 'Tearing at the Seams' (2018). The music of Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats features groovy beats, bluesy guitar riffs and soulful vocals. In addition to his work with the band, Rateliff has also released solo music. His first solo album, 'In Memory of Loss,' was released in 2010 and showcases his singer-songwriting skills.
Nat Wolff (*1994)
Nathaniel 'Nat' Marvin Wolff is an American actor, musician, and composer. Wolff began his career in music and acting as a child and became known for his role in the 'Naked Brothers Band' films and television series (2005 - 2009). In addition to his acting career, Wolff is also an active musician. He is a member of the band 'Nat & Alex Wolff' and has released several albums, including 'Black Sheep' (2011). His music is influenced by pop, rock and alternative and showcases his versatile skills as a musician and songwriter.
Natty Bumppo
Nathaniel 'Natty' Bumppo is a fictional character in American literature, best known as the hero of James Fenimore Cooper's 'Leatherstocking Tales' (1823 - 1841), a series of five novels. He is a young white man who lives as a lonely woodsman and hunter in the American West. He is often described as an exemplary representative of the American frontier, appreciative and respectful of nature and its inhabitants. Although he is often portrayed as isolated and independent, he also has strong moral convictions and is willing to help others.
Nathaniel Dett (1882 - 1943)
Robert Nathaniel Dett was an African-American composer, pianist, and music educator. Dett studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Institute of Musical Art (now known as the Juilliard School) in New York City. After graduating, he worked as a music teacher and church organist, and his works were often performed in church concerts. Dett was an innovative composer who incorporated African-American musical traditions into his works. Some of his best-known works include 'Dance Juba' (1913) and 'In the Bottoms' (1913). He also founded the National Association of Negro Musicians, which works to promote and preserve African-American musical culture.
Nathaniel Bowditch (1773 - 1838)
Nathaniel Bowditch was a major mathematician, astronomer, and navigator of the 19th century who had a lasting impact on mathematics, navigation, and maritime history. His work and discoveries earned him a reputation as a leading scientist in these fields. Bowditch began his career as a naval officer and later as a mathematics teacher. While working as a naval officer, he became interested in navigation and improved methods for determining a ship's position at sea. One of his best-known works is the New American Practical Navigator (1802), which is still used today as an important guide for mariners.
When you hear the name Nathaniel, you might first think of people. But did you know that there are also places with the name Nathaniel? Are you also called Nathaniel? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...
Massachusetts, you can visit the Nathaniel Bowditch House, the former home of Nathaniel Bowditch, and Nathaniel Bowditch Park.
There is one asteroid called Nathaniel: (25258) Nathaniel. It takes 1,934 days to orbit the sun.
Nathaniel is the epitome of persistance. Every single year since first names have been registered in the United States, parents have come up with the idea of naming their son Nathaniel. This means that several boys and men named Nathaniel have witnessed major events such as the first Nobel Prize ceremony, the moon landing, the release of the first cell phone, or the turn of the millennium. The first name Nathaniel has reached its best rank of 60 several times, most recently in 2001. Moreover, the name has been in the top 100 numerous times. This makes Nathaniel one of the most popular names of all time.
In years where the graph has no value, the name Nathaniel was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.
Nathaniel will be Nathaniel. Like every other year, there were newborns named Nathaniel in 2022 – in fact 2,684 to be precise, confirming Nathaniel is still a very popular first name. In this most recent year for which US-wide statistics are available, the name ranked #139 among all boys‘ names. Incidentally, the least popular year for Nathaniel was 1897, when only 43 baby boys were named Nathaniel.
There are only 386 different male names registered in every single state in the U.S., and Nathaniel is one of them. However, Nathaniel is not equally widespread in all states, but people in South Carolina seem to particularly fancy this name – the 7,851 men called Nathaniel who live here are 0,339% of all male residents and push their name up to #54 in our SmartGenius statistics, easily placing it in the top 100 most common male names in South Carolina. If you look at all the states in the USA together, you can currently find as many as 273,000 people with the name Nathaniel. Across all regions and age groups, this lands Nathaniel on position 128 in our SmartGenius ranking of the top male names – of course, the current popularity as a baby name for newborns looks somewhat different, as you can see from the statistics above.
Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: 3.0% of all common boys' names in the US begin with an N. This means that N as the first letter for boys' names is neither particularly common nor rare. The most common first letters of boys' names are J, A and D, while X, U and Q are the least common initials of boys' names.
With nine letters, the name Nathaniel is relatively long compared to other names. In fact, 5.6% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly nine letters. 92% of all first names are shorter, while not even 2.5% of all boys’ and girls’ names use ten or more letters. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long with no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.
Thus, if 3.0% of all boys’ names start with an N, this initial letter is slightly less common than all other letters on average. Nevertheless, there are boys' names with N that are quite common in the U.S., the most common at present is Nicholas.
If your name is Nathaniel and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...
So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Nathaniel, you can simply say:
Nut
Apple
Tiger
Hat
Apple
Nut
Igloo
Elephant
Lion
Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.
Nathaniel
Nathaniel
Just use American Sign Language!
These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.
N
A
T
H
A
N
I
E
L
In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.
N
A
T
H
A
N
I
E
L
In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Nathaniel sounds like this:
