Name Awesome

Nate

#1,748 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Short form of Nathan

Nate has been given to 4,791 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #1,748 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2007, with 181 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 94% boys, 6% girls all-time.

Babies named Nate, 2025

1 in 35,600

Nate over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Nate over time

In 2025, Nate went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Nate: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Nathan

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Nate means

Nate is a short form of Nathan.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Nate → Nathan. The family’s meaning is “gave”, recorded in English with the source elements natán.

Origin, language, and formation

Nate is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Nathan.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Nate is pronounced /neɪt/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,490 boys were recorded with the name Nate between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 181 in 2007; its best national rank was #1,019 in 1880.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,885 in 2020 to #1,748 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,674 in 2015 to #1,748 in 2025.

In the United States, 301 girls were recorded with the name Nate between 1968 and 2009. Its highest annual count was 23 in 1980; its best national rank was #3,574 in 1980.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Nate?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 35,600
93 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 18,400
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,748
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
24,710 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nate sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 24,710 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nate. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nates were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nate was born before 2005 — so the typical Nate is around 20 today.

Median birth year
2005
About 20 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
25.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
61.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
4,170
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 25.9% of all recorded uses (1,163).

Is Nate rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−178
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+137
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−74
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.99×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
51.4%
Peak was 2007 (181)
Years since peak
18
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
10.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,019
1880

Spellings of Nate

Nate is not the most common spelling — Dale is, with 18.9% against Nate's 0.30%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Nate is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Nate was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 7,692 boys, against 1 in 16,958 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 100,000).

113 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New York1 in 7,692
  2. 2New Jersey1 in 8,333
  3. 3California1 in 12,500
  4. 4Louisiana1 in 14,286
  5. 5Texas1 in 16,667
  6. 6Florida1 in 25,000
  7. 7Illinois1 in 33,333
  8. 8Massachusetts1 in 50,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Nate is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Nate was most concentrated in Illinois — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 1,325,003 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Illinois1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Nate has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Nate around the world

Where Nate ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2001–2025
    #396
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2008–2025
    #400
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    2017–2024
    #404
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    2010–2025
    #829
    in 2025
  • France
    2015–2025
    #1,843
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1996–2024
    #391
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2000–2013
    #43
    in 2013
  • New South Wales
    2008–2018
    #89
    in 2018

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada, Consumer and Business Services (South Australia) and NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages. ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA, NSW BDM data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Nate

People whose public names include Nate, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Nate by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,748
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 137
Best rank ever
#1,019
1880
Peak year
2007
181 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,490
Count in 2025
93

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#3,574
1980
Peak year
1980
23 that year
First recorded
1968
Last recorded
2009
All-time count
301
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Nate

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

NatanNathenNatTateNatanaelSlateFateNationNathonPateNataleNatureNathanialNathanelNatnaelNatanielNatanelNathynNatalieNatsuNathanaelNathinNatividadNath

Names with a curve like Nate

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Nate, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

AndreiHavenCyObedJohannMarkoJaiMarcelloAntoniPresleyMariusSlade

Sibling names for Nate

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Nate

Top names of 2007, Nate's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1880Boys' names starting with N