Nathaniel
Meaning of Nathaniel
Nathaniel comes from the Hebrew name Netanel, meaning "God has given." It is the more common English spelling of Nathanael, a disciple of Jesus who appears in the Gospel of John. The name is pronounced nay-THAN-yuhl, with the stress on the second syllable.
The best-known Nathaniel is the 19th-century American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. The early American mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch wrote The New American Practical Navigator (1802), long a standard guide for sailors.
In the United States, Nathaniel climbed from 244th place in 1961 to a peak of 60th in 1998. It has gradually declined since the early 2000s, though it edged up to 140th in 2025, when 2,565 boys were given the name.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as nay-THAN-yuhl (/neɪˈθaːnjəl/)
American English
- Pronunced as nay-THAN-yuhl (/neɪˈθeɪnjəl/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Nathaniel
| Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer whose works explore history, morality, and religion. |
| Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general killed in the Civil War and is remembered for thwarting secessionist plans in Missouri in 1861. |
| Nathaniel Weyl was an American economist and author who left the Communist Party in 1939, became a conservative anticommunist, and later played a minor role in the 1952 Alger Hiss case. |
| Nathaniel Alexander Owings was an American architect and cofounder of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, known for skyscrapers and for mediating among clients, contractors, and planning commissions. |
| Nathaniel Bowditch, an early American mathematician, helped found modern maritime navigation with his 1802 book The New American Practical Navigator, still carried aboard every US Naval vessel. |
| Nathaniel, an Irish bred and British trained Thoroughbred, rose from a winless two year old to win the King Edward VII, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and the Eclipse Stakes, and later sired champion Enable. |
| Nathaniel Gorham was a Massachusetts Founding Father who presided over the Continental Congress for six months and helped draft and sign the United States Constitution. |
| Nathaniel Chipman was a Yale educated Revolutionary War veteran who championed Vermont statehood and later served as a US Senator, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and the first federal judge for Vermont. |
| Nathaniel Attoh, known as Citizen Attoh, is a Ghanaian master of ceremonies, international boxing ring announcer, and TV and radio journalist best known for hosting Joy Sports Link on Joy 99.7 FM in Ghana. |
| Nathaniel Peabody Rogers was an American lawyer turned abolitionist writer who edited the New England anti-slavery Herald of Freedom from 1838 to 1846 and championed temperance, women’s rights, and animal rights. |
| Nathaniel Lichfield was a pioneering British urban planner who helped shape the 1960s new towns, founded Nathaniel Lichfield Associates in 1962, and received a Royal Town Planning Institute lifetime achievement award in 2004. |
| Nathaniel Green Taylor was a Tennessee lawyer, farmer, and politician who served in the US House in 1854 to 1855 and 1866 to 1867, and later as Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1867 to 1869. |
| Nathaniel Brown Palmer was a 19th century American sealer, whaler, explorer, and ship captain from Stonington, Connecticut, who explored Antarctica in 1820 on the sloop Hero and gave his name to Palmer Land. |
