Nathaniel has been given to about 288,265 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 2002, which makes it a millennial-parent name.
Nathaniel ranks 140th among American boys in 2025, with 2,565 born that year. Its best year was 2002, when 6,829 babies were given the name, ranking 62nd. The typical living American called Nathaniel is about 27 years old today. It is relatively most common in District of Columbia, where it accounts for 0.26% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.