Nathaniel is a name of Hebrew origin, meaning "gift from God". It is composed of the elements "natan", which means "to give", and "yâlekh", which means "of God". The name Nathaniel was first introduced to Western culture through the New Testament of the Bible, where it is used as one of the names of Saint Nathanael. In the Gospel of John, Nathanael is described as a man from Cana in Galilee who is called by Jesus to be his disciple. Throughout history, many notable figures have been named Nathaniel, including the English poet and dramatist Thomas Nash (1567-1601) and American politician Nathaniel Gorham (1738-1796). Today, Nathaniel continues to be a popular choice for boys' names in many countries around the world.
The name Nathaniel has been popular among parents in the United States since at least 1880, with an average of around 60 births per year during that decade. However, it was not until the early 1970s that its popularity significantly increased.
From 1973 onwards, the number of babies named Nathaniel began to rise steadily, reaching a peak in 1978 with 2925 births. This trend continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with over 4000 births each year from 1985 onwards.
However, after reaching an all-time high of 6797 births in 2000, the popularity of the name Nathaniel began to decline. Between 2001 and 2013, there were fewer than 7000 births each year on average.
Despite this decline, Nathaniel remains a popular name in the United States, with over 2500 births recorded annually between 2019 and 2023. Overall, since 1880, approximately 281,917 babies have been named Nathaniel in the United States.