Nathan
/ˈneɪθən/
"nathan" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Nathan” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,817 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #5,817
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An Old Testament prophet who advised King David.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Nathan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈneɪθən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #5,817 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Nathan” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Nathan is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈneɪθən/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,817 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Nathan, with forms such as "anthan", "nahtan", and "natahn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "nation", "Nath", "naan", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan. The correct English form is Nathan, spelled N-A-T-H-A-N.
Definition
- 1An Old Testament prophet who advised King David.
- 2The fourth son of King David and father of Mattatha
- 3A male given name from Hebrew, of Biblical origin.
- 4An English surname originating as a patronymic.
- 5An Ashkenazi surname from Hebrew [in turn originating as a patronymic], a variant of Natan.
- 6A suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; named for Matthew Nathan, 13th Governor of Queensland.
Etymology
From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anthan,nahtan,natahn,nathann,nathhan,nathna,natthan,nnathan,ntahan
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Nathan - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Nathan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-A-T-H-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈneɪθən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “nation” - see the side-by-side comparison. Nathan vs nation
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.