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Nathan

Nathan is a Hebrew name meaning "he gave" or "gift."

Ranked #63 in US baby names in 2025, peaked at #20 in 2004, declining over the past 5 years.

Nathan was the Old Testament prophet who confronted King David after the Bathsheba affair and delivered the covenant promise of an eternal Davidic dynasty.

Browse namesRead Nathan's story
OriginHebrew
GenderBoy
FeelBiblical
PronunciationNAY-thuhn

Is Nathan biblical?

Yes

Biblical status Direct biblical person

Nathan is a named person in Scripture, the court prophet who confronted David over Bathsheba and delivered the Davidic covenant promise.

Is Nathan a Christian name?

Used by Christians, not distinctively

Christian tradition Christian cultural usage

Nathan entered modern Christian naming through the broader Hebrew Bible boy-name revival, without a distinct saint or church tradition.

Plain answer

Nathan is a biblical prophet's name whose Christian use today comes mainly from the modern Hebrew-name revival rather than a church-naming tradition.

Confidence Moderate Last reviewed July 19, 2026 How this works

Meaning

The meaning of Nathan

Nathan comes from the Hebrew Natan, from the verb natan meaning "to give" or "he gave." The name shares its root with Nathaniel ("gift of God") and Jonathan ("Yahweh has given"). All three names belong to the same Hebrew giving-and-gift naming pattern that runs through the Old Testament. The Septuagint transliterates the name directly as Nathan; Latin and modern European forms preserve the same spelling with minor variation.

Prophet name

Why Nathan became a Christian name

Nathan's biblical role is compact but load-bearing. He appears at three pivotal moments in the David narrative: the covenant promise, the Bathsheba confrontation, and the Solomon succession. Each moment shapes the theological memory of the Davidic line.

The name has carried that weight into modern Christian naming as one of the most consistently used biblical boy names in the SSA dataset. Nathan reads as a Hebrew biblical name without needing biblical explanation, and Nate as the everyday short form makes it accessible.

Sound

How to pronounce Nathan

Phonetic
NAY-thuhn
IPA
/ˈneɪθən/

2 syllables · stress: NAY-thuhn · ends in a consonant

Forms

Variants and nicknames

Alternate spellings

  • Natan
  • Nathanaël

Short forms and nicknames

  • Nate
  • Nat

Languages

Nathan in other languages

Hebrew
נָתָןNatanThe original Hebrew form, from the verb natan meaning "to give."
Greek
ΝαθάνNathan
French
Nathan
Spanish
Natán
Italian
Natan

Christian background

Christian and biblical background

Nathan is associated with the court prophet who served King David and King Solomon. Nathan appears three times in the David narrative: delivering the covenant promise of an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7), confronting David after the Bathsheba affair with the parable of the poor man's lamb (2 Samuel 12), and supporting Solomon's succession over Adonijah's rival claim (1 Kings 1). The 2 Samuel 12 confrontation ("Thou art the man") is among the sharpest prophetic-to-royal confrontations in the Old Testament. For more on prophet names in the Bible and the prophetic tradition, see Biblical prophet names.

Bearers

Notable people named Nathan

  • biblical

    Nathan the prophetOld Testament court prophet who served under Kings David and Solomon, active around 1000 BC

  • historical

    Nathan HaleAmerican Revolutionary War soldier hanged by the British as a spy in 1776, remembered for the line "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," 1755 to 1776

  • modern

    Nathan ChenAmerican Olympic figure skating champion, three-time World Champion, born 1999

  • modern

    Nathan FielderCanadian-American comedian and filmmaker, creator of The Rehearsal, born 1983

Naming history

Naming tradition and history

Nathan entered modern American naming through the broader Hebrew Bible boy-name tradition. The name has held a US Top 100 position for most of the modern SSA dataset and peaked at #20 in 2004 during the classical-Hebrew-name revival of the early 2000s. Nathan currently sits at #63 in the 2025 SSA data, having declined gradually from peak but remaining among the most consistently used biblical boy names in current American naming.

Recent US use

Nathan in recent US use

Rank in 2025
#63
Peak rank
#20 in 2004
Recent trend
declining over the last 5 years
Years in the SSA records
146 (since 1880)

Source: US Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880-2025.

Sibling fit

Sibling name suggestions

For families

For families looking at Nathan

For a Christian family, Nathan names the prophet who spoke truth to power in the David narrative and delivered the covenant promise that runs through the Old Testament. Ranked #63 in US baby names in 2025, below the 2004 peak of #20 but still solidly in the US Top 100.

Common questions

What does Nathan mean?

Nathan is a Hebrew name meaning "he gave" or "gift." The root is the verb natan (to give).

Is Nathan a biblical name?

Yes. Nathan is the Old Testament court prophet who served under Kings David and Solomon. He appears at three pivotal moments: the covenant promise (2 Samuel 7), the Bathsheba confrontation (2 Samuel 12), and the Solomon succession (1 Kings 1).

What is Nathan best known for?

Nathan is best known for confronting King David after the Bathsheba affair with the parable of the poor man's lamb (2 Samuel 12:1-14), delivering the line "Thou art the man" that exposed David's sin.

How popular is the name Nathan?

Nathan ranked #63 in US baby names in 2025. The name peaked at #20 in 2004 during the classical-Hebrew-name revival of the early 2000s.

Sources

Sources for Nathan

  • A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Brown, Driver, and BriggsSupports: Hebrew etymology (he gave / gift, from natan); meaning.
  • 2 Samuel, King James Version (KJV 1769)Supports: biblical figure (prophet confronting David, 2 Samuel 12:7).
  • National baby names data, US Social Security Administration (2025 release)Supports: US popularity.

Last reviewed July 19, 2026. See our methodology, or report an error on the corrections page.

Read next

Related names

DavidNathan was the prophet who confronted David over Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12) and delivered the covenant promise of an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7). The two names are linked through the two most significant prophetic encounters in David's life.JonathanBoth names come from the same Hebrew root natan meaning "to give." Jonathan means "Yahweh has given"; Nathan is the shorter form of the same giving-verb naming pattern.SamuelBoth were prophets who spoke to Israel's kings. Samuel anointed David as king; Nathan confronted David and later supported Solomon's succession.SolomonNathan supported Solomon's succession over Adonijah's rival claim (1 Kings 1), making Nathan the prophetic figure most closely tied to Solomon's kingship.DanielBoth are prophetic figures whose confrontations with kings (Nathan with David; Daniel with Belshazzar) are among the sharpest prophetic-to-royal moments in the Old Testament.