Explore the Family Name Nathaniel
The meaning of Nathaniel
English, Welsh, Scottish, and Jewish: from the Biblical Hebrew personal name meaning ‘given by God’. This was borne by a minor prophet in the Bible (2 Samuel 7:2). The name Nathaniel is also found among Christians in southern India, but since South Indians traditionally do not have hereditary surnames, the southern Indian name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Satya, Ashish, Sashi.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Nathaniel in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Nathaniel has seen a rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 16,208th most popular and by 2010, it had risen to 15,692nd. The total count of people with this surname also increased by 13.42%, from 1,639 to 1,859 within the same time frame. Furthermore, the proportion of people named Nathaniel per 100,000 individuals rose by 3.28% during these years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #16,208 | #15,692 | 3.18% |
| Count | 1,639 | 1,859 | 13.42% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.61 | 0.63 | 3.28% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nathaniel
Turning to ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts. The percentage of individuals with the surname Nathaniel who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander increased by 25.05% between 2000 and 2010. Those identifying their ethnicity as two or more races also saw an increase of 13.71%. However, there was a decrease of 6.39% in those identifying as White, and a slight drop of 2.75% for Black identifiers. Hispanic representation among Nathaniels grew by 21.28%, while the proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Natives decreased slightly by 3.23%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 65.77% | 63.96% | -2.75% |
| White | 15.8% | 14.79% | -6.39% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 5.55% | 6.94% | 25.05% |
| Two or More Races | 5.25% | 5.97% | 13.71% |
| Hispanic | 3.9% | 4.73% | 21.28% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 3.72% | 3.6% | -3.23% |