The name Nathaniel comes from the Hebrew name Netan'el, which is composed of the Hebrew roots naṯan, meaning "to give," and el, meaning "God." Together, the name translates to "God gives" or "God has given." It's also spelled Nethanel, Nethaneel and Nathanael in the Bible. It has been featured in the Social Security Administration's top-250 for boy names every year since 1900 and was even a top-100 boy's name between 1978 and 2015. Given to more than 2,500 baby boys in 2023, Nathaniel is more common than Nathanael, but not as common as Nathan. It's also the name former TLC star Teresa Strasser gave her son Nathaniel "Buster" James, born in 2009.
