Given name
Elnathan
“God has given”
Elnathan is used as a given name.
Original Hebrewאלנתן
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Elnathan means “God has given.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Elnathan is a biblical name from Hebrew.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew word 'el (אל), “God,” and the Hebrew verb natan (נתן), “to give.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1926. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Elnathan appears in Ezra 8:16, 2 Kings 24:8, Jeremiah 26:22 and 2 other passages.
- Ezra 8:16
- 2 Kings 24:8
- Jeremiah 26:22
- Jeremiah 36:12
- Jeremiah 36:25
From biblical name research
Elnathan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 406
- 406 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2013
- 40 babies
- 2025
- 21
- #4,754 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 21 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,754 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 36.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 40 in 2013.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elnathan’s family of names
See also 13
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Elnathan
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Elnathan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hebron
“born of the community; a good friend”
>99% boys
Javan
“mire” · “mud man”
>99% boys
Eleazar
“God will help”
>99% boys
Ethan
“firmness” · “long-lived”
>99% boys
Eli
“one who has ascended; my God on high”
99% boys · 1% girls
Emmanuel
“God is with us”
>99% boys
Ananias
“Yah has been gracious” · “graciously given of Yah”
>99% boys
Cain
“craftsman”
>99% boys