Nathaniel is an English variant of the

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

Nathanael Nathanael is a biblical given name derived from the Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (''Netan'el''), which means "God/ El has given" or "Gift of God/ El." Nathaniel is the variant form of this name and it stands to this day as the usual and most common s ...

. It can be a given or surname.

People with the name Nathaniel

Given name

* Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player *

Nate Archibald Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/ Kansas City–Omaha King ...

(born 1948), American basketball player * Nathaniel Ayers (born 1951), American musician who is the subject of the 2009 film ''

The Soloist ''The Soloist'' is a 2009 biographical drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The plot is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who developed schizophrenia and became homeless. Originall ...

'' * Nathaniel Bacon (1647–1676), Virginia colonist who instigated

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American India ...

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local ...

(1816–1894), American politician and American Civil War General *

Nat Bates Nathaniel Bates is a former mayor and eight-term city councilman of Richmond, California in addition to being a former professional baseball player in the Canadian League in his earlier years. History He arrived in Richmond in 1942 by train fr ...

(born 1931), two-term mayor of Richmond, California *

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

(1773–1838), American mathematician, father of modern maritime navigation *

Nathaniel Buzolic Nathaniel Buzolic ( ) is an Australian actor. He was the host of Nine Network's late-night television quiz show '' The Mint'', and had a regular role on the BBC soap opera '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). He was also a co-host of the educational s ...

(born 1983), Australian actor * Nathaniel Chalobah (born 1994), English footballer * Nathaniel Clayton (1833–1895), British politician *

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

(1919–1965), American singer and musician * Nathaniel Clyne (born 1991), English footballer * Nathaniel W. Depee (1812–1868), American abolitionist *

Robert Nathaniel Dett Robert Nathaniel Dett (October 11, 1882 – October 2, 1943), often known as R. Nathaniel Dett and Nathaniel Dett, was a Canadian-American composer, organist, pianist, choral director, and music professor. Born and raised in Canada until the a ...

(1882–1943), American composer and choir director *

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (born June 15, 1984) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, Erskine-Smith has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Beaches—East York since he was first elected in 2015. Before entering ...

(born 1984), Canadian politician *

Nathaniel Fick Nathaniel C. Fick (born June 23, 1977) is an American diplomat, technology executive, author, and former United States Marine Corps officer. He was the Chief executive officer, CEO of Computer security software, cybersecurity software company En ...

(born 1977), former US Marine captain *

Nathaniel Greene Foster Nathaniel Greene Foster (August 25, 1809 – October 19, 1869) was an American politician, lawyer, and military officer. Foster was born near Madison in Morgan County, Georgia in 1809. He graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens in 1 ...

(1809–1869), American politician and military officer * Nathaniel M. Gorton (born 1938), American federal judge *

Nathaniel Everett Green Nathaniel Everett Green FRAS (21 August 1823 – 10 November 1899) was an English painter, art teacher and astronomer. He professionally painted landscapes and portraits, and also gained fame with his drawings of planets. Born in Bristol, ...

(1823–1899), English painter * Nathaniel Greene (journalist) (1797–1877), American journalist * Nathaniel Hackett (born 1979), American football coach *

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

(1804–1864), American novelist * Nathaniel J. Jacobson (1916–1996), American artist * Nathaniel Jarvis (born 1991), Welsh footballer *

Nathaniel Bar-Jonah Nathaniel Benjamin Levi Bar-Jonah (born David Paul Brown; February 15, 1957 – April 13, 2008) was an American convicted child molester and suspected cannibalistic serial killer who was sentenced to 130 years in prison without the possibilit ...

(1957–2008), convicted kidnapper, suspected serial killer and cannibal *

Nathaniel Lammons Nathaniel Lammons (born August 12, 1993) is an American professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has a career-high ATP ranking of world No. 17 in doubles, achieved on 27 January 2025. He has won 10 ATP doubles titles. A former ...

(born 1993), American tennis player * Nathaniel Ledbetter (born c. 1961), American politician *

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth; Dr Lee was chaplain to George Monck, afterw ...

, (c. 1653–1692), English dramatist *

Nathaniel Lees Maiava Nathaniel Lees (born 20 July 1952) is a New Zealand theatre actor and director and film actor of Samoan descent, best known for film roles in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower ...

, New Zealand actor *

Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley, (29 November 1828 – 9 December 1921) was an English judge. Early life He was the second son of the botanist Dr. John Lindley, born at Acton Green, London, Acton Green, London. From his mother's side, he was de ...

(1828–1921), English judge *

Nat Lofthouse Nathaniel Lofthouse (27 August 1925 – 15 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. He won 33 caps for England between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals, with one ...

(1925–2011), English footballer * Nathaniel Lubell (1916–2006), American Olympic fencer *

Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was a United States Army officer who was the first Union Army, Union General officer, general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginn ...

(1818–1861), U.S. Army general *

Nathaniel Macon Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented North Carolina in both houses of United States Congress, Congress. He was the fifth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, speaker of the ...

(1757–1837), speaker of the House of Representatives * Nathaniel Miller (born 1979), Canadian water polo player * Nathaniel Moore (disambiguation), various people *

Nathaniel Neale Nathaniel Neale (born 16 September 1988) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League. He primarily plays as a and Rugby league positions#Second-row, se ...

(born 1988), New Zealand Rugby League player *

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and List of Merlin characters#Agravaine de Bois, Agravaine de Bois in the ...

(born 1962), English actor *

Nathaniel Pearce Nathaniel Pearce (14 February 1779 – 12 August 1820) was an English explorer who spent many years in the Ethiopian Empire (then called 'Abyssinia' by Europeans) and wrote a journal of his experiences. Early life Pearce was born in East Acton ...

(1779–1820), English explorer in Ethiopia * Nathaniel Pearlman (born 1965), American entrepreneur * Nathaniel Peat, British Jamaican social entrepreneur * Nathaniel Peteru (born 1992), New Zealand rugby league footballer *

Nathaniel Philbrick Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, ''In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex'', based on w ...

(born 1956), American writer * Nathaniel Phillips (born 1997), English footballer * Nathaniel Rateliff (born 1978), American musician * Nathaniel "Nate" Rathbun (born 1992), American house musician known as

Audien Nathaniel "Nate" Rathbun (born January 11, 1992), better known under his stage name Audien, is an American Disc jockey, DJ and electronic music producer. Audien has released many singles and remixes for Electronic music, electronic record labels ...

* Nathaniel Raymond (born 1977), human rights investigator and anti-torture advocate * Nathaniel Ropes (c. 1726–1774), justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court *

Nate Ruess Nathaniel Joseph Ruess (pronounced ; born February 26, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. He formed the indie rock band The Format in 2002, and later went on to form the band fun. in 2008. He emerged as a solo act with his guest per ...

(born 1982), American singer-songwriter *

Nathaniel Stern Nathaniel Stern (born 1977) is an American/South African interdisciplinary artist who works in a variety of media, including photography, interactive art, public art interventions, installation, video art, net.art and printmaking. He is curre ...

(born 1977), American artist * Nathaniel Walter Swan (1834–1884), Irish-born Australian writer *

Nate Thurmond Nathaniel Thurmond (July 25, 1941 – July 16, 2016) was an American professional basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the ...

(1941–2016), an American basketball player * Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (1784–1851), American author and Virginia political activist *

Nathaniel Wallich Nathaniel Wolff Wallich (28 January 1786 – 28 April 1854) was a surgeon and botanist of Danish origin who worked in India, initially in the Danish settlement near Calcutta and later for the Danish East India Company and the British East Indi ...

(1786–1854), surgeon and botanist * Nathaniel Watson (born 2000), American football player * Nathaniel Jarrett Webb (1891–1943), American politician * Nathaniel White (born 1960), American serial killer *

Nathaniel Willemse Nathaniel Willemse (born 14 July 1985), often known simply as Nathaniel, is a South African-born Australian singer and songwriter most notable for being the eighth contestant eliminated on the The X Factor (Australia season 4), fourth season of ' ...

(born 1985), Australian singer-songwriter *

Nat Wolff Nathaniel Marvin "Nat" Wolff (born December 17, 1994) is an American actor, musician, and singer-songwriter. He initially gained recognition for composing the music for ''The Naked Brothers Band (TV series), The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–2 ...

(born 1994), American actor, musician and singer-songwriter

Surname

* A. S. Nathaniel (????–2013), Pakistani nurse * Afia Nathaniel (born 1974), Pakistani filmmaker * Ashley Nathaniel-George (born 1995), English footballer * Daniel Nathaniel (born 1992), Nigerian Men volleyball player * Ezekiel Nathaniel (born 2003), Nigerian track and field athlete * Gagarin Nathaniel (born 1995), Indonesian competitive swimmer *

Glory Onome Nathaniel Glory Onome Nathaniel (born 23 January 1996) is a Nigerian athlete specialising in the 400 metres hurdles. She represented her country at the 2017 World Championships reaching the semifinals. Additionally, she won three silver medals at the 20 ...

(born 1996), Nigerian athlete * Inez Nathaniel-Walker (1911–1990), African-American prison folk artist * Jonadob Nathaniel, Indian biblical scholar * Joseph Nathaniel (born 1993), Nigerian football player *

Leslie Nathaniel Leslie Satianathan Nathaniel (born 1954) is an Anglican priest. Nathaniel was educated at Bangalore University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Birmingham University. He was ordained in 2002. He worked for the Church Mission Society from 1999 to ...

(born 1954), Anglican priest * Nat Clifton (born Clifton Nathaniel; 1922–1990), American professional basketball and baseball player * Samson Oghenewegba Nathaniel (born 1997), Nigerian athlete

Fictional characters

* Nathaniel Fitzwilliam "Nate" Archibald in the ''Gossip Girl'' series * Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo, the main character in James Fenimore Cooper's novel ''The Last of The Mohicans'' * Nathaniel Dusk, comic book character, private investigator * Nathaniel Essex, alter ego of

Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Dr. Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team ...

, a Marvel Comics supervillain * Nathaniel "Nate" Fisher, Jr. and his father Nathaniel Fisher Sr. in the television series ''Six Feet Under'' * Captain Nathaniel Flint from Disney's

Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...

* Nathaniel M. Laxamana, the protagonist of the Filipino TV series ''

Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...

'' * Nathaniel Macauley, in Karen McManus's ''

One of Us Is Lying 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

'' * Nathaniel (surname unknown, also known as John Mandrake), one of the three main protagonists in the ''

Bartimaeus Sequence The ''Bartimaeus Sequence'' is a series of young adult novels of alternate history, Fantasy literature, fantasy and Magic (paranormal), magic. It was written by British writer Jonathan Stroud and consists of a trilogy published from 2003 to 2005 ...

'' by Jonathan Stroud * Captain Nathaniel Renko, main character in the 2010 video game '' Singularity'' * Nathaniel Kurtzberg, a character in the animated series ''Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir'' * Captain Nathaniel Joseph Claw, main character in the 1997 video game ''

Claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or Arthro ...

Animals with this name

Nathaniel (horse) Nathaniel (foaled 24 April 2008) is an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. Nathaniel failed to win in two races as a two-year-old but attracted attention by running Frankel (horse), Frankel to half a Horse length, length at Newma ...

, winner of the King Edward VII Stakes and

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

References

{{given name English masculine given names English-language masculine given names Hebrew masculine given names Jewish given names Masculine given names Modern names of Hebrew origin Theophoric names Surnames Hebrew-language surnames English-language surnames