Nathan en · PROPN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈneɪθən/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) An Old Testament prophet who advised King David.
And Dauids anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liueth, the man that hath done this thing, shall surely die. And he shall restore the Lambe fourefold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pittie. And Nathan said to Dauid, Thou art the man: […]
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 12:5–7:
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(countable, uncountable) The fourth son of King David and father of Mattatha
the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 5:14:
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(countable, uncountable) A male given name from Hebrew, of Biblical origin.
I used to envy my brother his name, and recall once accusing my mother of having favored him, else why did she name me Nathan and him Philip, tell me that, ma, tell me that. He had king Philip and if day-dreaming that association wasn't pleasure enough, there was the then movie star, Phillips Holmes. All I had was Nathan Hale. Admittedly, Nathan Hale would have been fine — except among our schoolyard ditties was the couplet: Nathan Hale, / Nathan Hale, / He shit in a pail, / Shit in a pail. Being a Nathan was sometimes trying.
1972, Nate Perlmutter, A Bias of Reflections: Confessions of an Incipient Old Jew, Arlington House, →ISBN, page 27:Near the end of Sasquatch Sunset, the gloriously weird feature from David and Nathan Zellner, Riley Keough wordlessly conveys a slowly creeping moment of profound existential despair that crushes your heart with its bleakness.
2024 June 16, Wendy Ide, “Sasquatch Sunset review – brilliant bigfoot oddity is unexpectedly moving”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:He was so proud he'd had a son. He talked me into naming him Nathan saying he had always loved that name. I was surprised to see when I looked it up in a name book it meant gift from God. And yes that was a very appropriate name.
2007, Rose Lamatt, Lifeline Online, →ISBN, page 128:
- (countable, uncountable) An English surname originating as a patronymic.
- (countable, uncountable) An Ashkenazi surname from Hebrew [in turn originating as a patronymic], a variant of Natan.
- (countable, uncountable) A suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; named for Matthew Nathan, 13th Governor of Queensland.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathans | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Nat (given name diminutives) · Nate (given name diminutives)
Relateds
Jonathan · Nathaniel · Nation · Nathanael
Translations (47)
mi Nātana (male given name) · es Natán (male given name) · pt Natã (biblical prophet) · fi Naatan (biblical prophet) · ja ネーサン (male given name) · kk Натан (biblical prophet) · ru На́тан (male given name) · hy Նաթան (biblical prophet) · no Nathan (male given name) · pl Natan (male given name) · mk Натан (biblical prophet) · it Nathan (male given name) · cmn 拿單 /拿单 (biblical prophet) · sv Nathan (male given name) · yi נתן (male given name) · hy Նաթան (male given name) · cmn 納堂 /纳堂 (biblical prophet) · el Νάθαν (biblical prophet) · fi Natan (biblical prophet) · de Natan (male given name) · ru Ната́н (biblical prophet) · mt Natan (biblical prophet) · de Nathan (male given name) · la Nathan (male given name) · cmn 內森 /内森 (male given name) · fr Nathan (biblical prophet) · pt Natã (male given name) · es Natan (male given name) · yi נתן (biblical prophet) · mt Natan (male given name) · he נָתָן (male given name) · la Nāthan (biblical prophet) · he נָתָן (biblical prophet) · es Natán (biblical prophet) · pt Natan (male given name) · fi Naatan (male given name) · ms Natan (biblical prophet) · de Natan (biblical prophet) · pl Natan (biblical prophet) · el Νέιθαν (male given name) · cop ⲛⲁⲑⲁⲛ (biblical prophet) · fr Nathan (male given name) · da Nathan (male given name) · nl Nathan (male given name) · mk Натан (male given name) · hu Nátán (male given name) · hi नातान (biblical prophet)