Nathan
A Hebrew name meaning "gift", carried almost entirely by men. It climbed through the 2010s to a brief high, then fell back: rare enough now that most Poles have never met one.
Nathan Pronunciation
What Nathan means
Where Nathan comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Nathan comes from the Hebrew verb natan, which means "he gave." The sense of "gift" grew out of that plain verb, a naming of the act before the thing. In the Hebrew Bible the prophet Nathan stands before King David and tells him a parable about a poor man's ewe lamb, then names the king's own guilt. That is one of the oldest scenes attached to the name.
The English-speaking world took it up and held it steady for centuries. It travels well. On a Polish class register today, a Nathan sits among the Jakubs and Filips without much fuss, an English-sounding choice built on a Hebrew root.
The name keeps no diminutive of its own in Polish, no softened home-form. It stays whole. What it says, it says directly: he gave, and from that giving, a gift.
How many people are named Nathan
1 in 7338 men in Poland is named Nathan. 2,911 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #599 among male names.
Nathan's popularity over time
12 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #657 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2002. Still the #599 name among living men, even as it slips to #657 among newborns.
Where parents choose Nathan
Nathan is most popular in West Pomeranian, 108% above the national average (20 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Opole (+91%) and Lower Silesian (+90%). It is least common in Łódź and Podlaskie, 86% and 73% below average respectively.
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West Pomeranian
+108%1 in 4,221 babies
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Opole
+91%1 in 4,610 babies
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Lower Silesian
+90%1 in 4,622 babies
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Łódź
−86%1 in 63,359 babies
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Podlaskie
−73%1 in 32,893 babies
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Holy Cross
−52%1 in 18,478 babies
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West Pomeranian+108% 20 born1 in 4,221 babies+108%
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Opole+91% 10 born1 in 4,610 babies+91%
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Lower Silesian+90% 34 born1 in 4,622 babies+90%
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Silesian+51% 39 born1 in 5,835 babies+51%
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Subcarpathian+31% 18 born1 in 6,698 babies+31%
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Lubusz+24% 7 born1 in 7,094 babies+24%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian+12% 14 born1 in 7,813 babies+12%
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Warmian-Masurian+10% 9 born1 in 7,977 babies+10%
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Pomeranian+7% 18 born1 in 8,185 babies+7%
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Lesser Poland−19% 21 born1 in 10,806 babies−19%
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Greater Poland−27% 18 born1 in 11,958 babies−27%
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Masovian−38% 25 born1 in 14,171 babies−38%
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Lublin−49% 6 born1 in 17,113 babies−49%
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Holy Cross−52% 3 born1 in 18,478 babies−52%
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Podlaskie−73% 2 born1 in 32,893 babies−73%
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Łódź−86% 2 born1 in 63,359 babies−86%
Nathan as a middle name
Nathan is a first name for 2,911 men in Poland and a middle name for another 407, an 88/12 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 349th, between Xavier (409) and Aaron (404).
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#347 Stanley416
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#348 Xavier409
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#349 Nathan407
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#350 Aaron404
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#351 Eric400