Nataniel
A Hebrew name meaning "gift of God", close kin to Natan and Natanael. It crested in the 2010s and has been easing off since: still given, just less each year, and almost always to boys.
Nataniel Pronunciation
Nataniel is pronounced nah-TAH-nyel (/naˈtaɲɛl/).
What Nataniel means
Where Nataniel comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Nataniel comes from Hebrew, built from the verb natan, "he gave," and el, a name for God. Put together, the parts mean "gift of God," or in Polish dany od Boga. The shorter Natan carries the giving alone, while Natanael keeps the fuller shape closer to the Hebrew Netanel.
The Gospel of John names a Nathanael among the first followers of Jesus, a man from Cana in Galilee. Later tradition sometimes identified him with the apostle Bartholomew. That bearer fixed the name in Christian usage, and versions of it spread across Europe with the scriptures.
In Poland the spelling settled as Nataniel, with the h dropped and the ending softened. A boy called Nataniel today might sit beside a Natan in the same class register. Both go back to the same Hebrew root. The meaning stays legible: gift of God.
When Nataniel celebrates name day
Nataniel appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar, never as a main name. The first of these dates is 4 February.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Nataniel
1 in 2801 men in Poland is named Nataniel. 7,628 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #410 among male names.
Nataniel's popularity over time
198 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #186 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2000.
Where Nataniel is most popular
Nataniel is most popular in Silesian, 33% above the national average (266 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Podlaskie (+28%) and Kuyavian-Pomeranian (+25%). It is least common in Masovian and Łódź, 30% and 23% below average respectively.
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Silesian266 boys born+33%
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Podlaskie74 boys born+28%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian121 boys born+25%
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Subcarpathian133 boys born+25%
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Lubusz53 boys born+21%
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Świętokrzyskie56 boys born+15%
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Lublin101 boys born+12%
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Opole44 boys born+8%
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Pomeranian139 boys born+7%
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Lower Silesian145 boys born+5%
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West Pomeranian73 boys born−2%
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Warmian-Masurian61 boys born−4%
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Lesser Poland175 boys born−13%
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Greater Poland158 boys born−17%
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Łódź86 boys born−23%
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Masovian220 boys born−30%
Nataniel as a middle name
Nataniel is a first name for 7,628 men in Poland and a middle name for another 1,217, an 86/14 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 214th, between Josef (1,243) and Manuel (1,207).
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#212 Jacenty1,247
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#213 Josef1,243
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#214 Nataniel1,217
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#215 Manuel1,207
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#216 Edwin1,185