Nat
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Meaning
gift of God (short form of Nathaniel); famously borne by Nat King Cole
The story
Nat is the short, warm end of Nathaniel, Hebrew for gift of God, a nickname with the same tweedy charm as Ned and Gus. Its immortal bearer was Nat King Cole, born Nathaniel Adams Coles, whose velvet baritone put Unforgettable and The Christmas Song into permanent rotation and who, in 1956, became one of the first Black Americans to host his own network television show. As a given name in its own right, Nat belongs to an earlier America: strongest in the records around the turn of the twentieth century, thinning steadily through midcentury, and mostly resting since, even as Nathaniel himself has thrived. That long rest is now the appeal. Nat is an heirloom nickname, short enough for a toddler to spell, backed by one of the smoothest voices ever recorded, and fresh precisely because it has waited.
The formal names behind Nat
Nat is an established short form of each of these names.
Nathaniel · Hebrew origin · gift of God
Natalia · Latin origin · Christmas Day, born on Christmas; a widely loved classic
Natalie · Latin origin · from Latin natalis, relating to birth or a birthday, with a Christian association with Christmas
Natasha · Russian origin · born on Christmas day (diminutive of Natalia)
How popular is Nat around the world?
In the United States, 5 babies were named Nat between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Nat in 2017.
Nat is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Mexico City and Brazil.
United States
1 in 4.4M
In the United States, 5 babies were named Nat between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Nat has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Nat in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Nat in 2022.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 28 people in Brazil were named Nat, ranked 99,072nd, with a median age of 23.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
England and Wales
last on record 2017
Nat is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Not on the record in Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Nat
People given the name Nat in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1979. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names of music legends · Short names · What is Nat short for?
The Nat deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Nat truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Nat fits with your family’s names and surname.
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