Thirty years of Nathan
Nathan in numbers
Nathan peaked in 1998 with 3,211 boys and has fallen since, to 528 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 2004 and 2007, from 2,459 to 1,689. It ranked 27th in 1996, reached 24th in 2002 and ranks 99th now. On average it was given to 2,952 boys a year in the late 1990s, 2,211 in the 2000s, 1,019 in the 2010s and 547 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Naithan (10), Neithan (7), Naythan (3). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Nathan.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-12%597 to 528
- 5 years+1%525 to 528
- 10 years-47%997 to 528
- 20 years-75%2,108 to 528
- Since 1996-81%2,744 to 528
- Total, 1996 to 202547,388boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 99 · ONS · 597 in 2024
Rank 56 · NRS · 80 in 2024
Rank 138 · NISRA · 18 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 99 | 528 | -12% | 1 in 570 |
| 2024 | =88 | 597 | +17% | 1 in 511 |
| 2023 | 102 | 512 | -2% | 1 in 592 |
| 2022 | 105 | 524 | -12% | 1 in 593 |
| 2021 | 99 | 595 | +13% | 1 in 538 |
| 2020 | 111 | 525 | -15% | 1 in 599 |
| 2019 | 104 | 616 | -3% | 1 in 534 |
| 2018 | 102 | 633 | -19% | 1 in 533 |
| 2017 | 88 | 779 | -11% | 1 in 447 |
| 2016 * | 77 | 872 | -13% | 1 in 408 |
| 2015 | 64 | 997 | -5% | 1 in 359 |
| 2014 | 62 | 1,055 | -7% | 1 in 338 |
| 2013 | 55 | 1,131 | -7% | 1 in 317 |
| 2012 | 56 | 1,212 | -8% | 1 in 309 |
| 2011 | 54 | 1,319 | -16% | 1 in 281 |
| 2010 | 48 | 1,571 | -0% | 1 in 236 |
| 2009 | =48 | 1,573 | -1% | 1 in 230 |
| 2008 | 50 | 1,586 | -6% | 1 in 229 |
| 2007 | 44 | 1,689 | -11% | 1 in 210 |
| 2006 | 37 | 1,894 | -10% | 1 in 181 |
| 2005 | 35 | 2,108 | -14% | 1 in 157 |
| 2004 | 31 | 2,459 | -4% | 1 in 134 |
| 2003 | 30 | 2,574 | -8% | 1 in 124 |
| 2002 | 24 | 2,793 | +8% | 1 in 110 |
| 2001 | 29 | 2,582 | -10% | 1 in 118 |
| 2000 | 25 | 2,856 | -0% | 1 in 108 |
| 1999 | 25 | 2,870 | -11% | 1 in 111 |
| 1998 | 25 | 3,211 | +8% | 1 in 101 |
| 1997 | 25 | 2,983 | +9% | 1 in 110 |
| 1996 | 27 | 2,744 | 1 in 122 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Nathan
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Nathan is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate