Nathan
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew, of Biblical origin. From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Nathan (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Nathan has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2013. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | 11 |
| 2003 | 12 |
| 2004 | 16 |
| 2005 | 17 |
| 2006 | 19 |
| 2007 | 20 |
| 2008 | 23 |
| 2009 | 15 |
| 2010 | 21 |
| 2011 | 27 |
| 2012 | 31 |
| 2013 | 38 |
| 2014 | 33 |
| 2015 | 32 |
| 2016 | 35 |
| 2017 | 33 |
| 2018 | 38 |
| 2019 | 35 |
| 2020 | 21 |
| 2021 | 36 |
| 2022 | 24 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 87 |
| 2000 | 95 |
| 2001 | 105 |
| 2002 | 119 |
| 2003 | 136 |
| 2004 | 156 |
| 2005 | 186 |
| 2006 | 205 |
| 2007 | 222 |
| 2008 | 251 |
| 2009 | 273 |
| 2010 | 299 |
| 2011 | 333 |
| 2012 | 363 |
| 2013 | 413 |
| 2014 | 477 |
| 2015 | 506 |
| 2016 | 547 |
| 2017 | 602 |
| 2018 | 659 |
| 2019 | 703 |
| 2020 | 734 |
Nathan in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Nathan.Hi! My name is Nathan.
- Nathan bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Nathan lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Nathan har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Nathan has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Nathans mamma är lärare.Nathan's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Nathans mamma is Nathan's mum.
More names
Questions about Nathan
How do you pronounce Nathan in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Nathan in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Nathan mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew, of Biblical origin. From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan.
How popular is Nathan in Sweden?
24 babies were named Nathan in 2022. In 2020, 734 people in Sweden had Nathan as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2013 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.