| Nathan | Gabriel | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | he gave, given | God is my strength |
| Origin | hebrew | Hebrew |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | NAY-thən | GAY-bree-el |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2004 (14,634) | 2008 (13,041) |
| In 2025 | 4,975 | 6,569 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Nathan | Gabriel |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 31,755 | 41,496 |
| 2010s | 88,034 | 105,621 |
| 2000s | 134,857 | 119,830 |
| 1990s | 107,332 | 54,819 |
| 1980s | 105,987 | 32,320 |
| 1970s | 65,857 | 24,390 |
| 1960s | 15,524 | 6,159 |
| 1950s | 10,126 | 3,204 |
| 1940s | 5,577 | 2,039 |
| 1930s | 4,699 | 1,839 |
| 1920s | 6,715 | 2,201 |
| 1910s | 7,132 | 1,335 |
| 1900s | 1,616 | 234 |
| 1890s | 1,180 | 144 |
| 1880s | 1,106 | 147 |
From Hebrew Natan, from the root natan 'to give', meaning 'he gave' or 'given'. The same root underlies Nathaniel and Jonathan; on its own it denotes giving rather than naming God.
Gabriel is from the Hebrew Gavriʾel, “God is my strength.” Gabriel is one of the archangels who appears in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition.
Gabriel is more popular than Nathan today: about 6,569 US babies were given the name Gabriel in 2025, compared with 4,975 named Nathan.
Nathan means he gave, given (hebrew origin), while Gabriel means God is my strength (Hebrew origin).
In US records, Nathan first appears in 1880 and Gabriel in 1880, so Nathan has the longer recorded history.