# Daniel (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/daniel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “god is my judge” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdænjəl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Danny, Dan, Dani, Danno |
| Variant spellings | Danis, Daneau, Danel, Danès, Danet, Daniau, Deniau, Deniaud, Deniel, Dennel, Dany, Daniellot |
| US babies named this | 1,991,091 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,982,812 / 8,279 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 121,704, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Daniel, Daniell, from Ancient Greek Δᾱνῑήλ (Dānīḗl), from Hebrew דָּנִיֵּאל (daniyél, literally “God is my judge”), name borne from the prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel.

## What it means

Daniel is grouped under justice.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 25 | 5,411 |
| 2012 | 19 | 6,668 |
| 2013 | 29 | 4,787 |
| 2014 | 25 | 5,348 |
| 2015 | 20 | 6,288 |
| 2016 | 25 | 5,324 |
| 2017 | 14 | 7,949 |
| 2018 | 19 | 6,314 |
| 2019 | 17 | 6,788 |
| 2020 | 19 | 6,133 |
| 2021 | 12 | 8,604 |
| 2022 | 11 | 9,194 |
| 2023 | 19 | 6,225 |
| 2024 | 10 | 9,708 |
| 2025 | 8 | 11,166 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15,307 | 10 |
| 2012 | 14,304 | 11 |
| 2013 | 14,326 | 10 |
| 2014 | 13,961 | 10 |
| 2015 | 13,543 | 12 |
| 2016 | 12,996 | 13 |
| 2017 | 11,758 | 15 |
| 2018 | 11,296 | 15 |
| 2019 | 10,592 | 15 |
| 2020 | 9,530 | 14 |
| 2021 | 9,162 | 16 |
| 2022 | 9,121 | 14 |
| 2023 | 8,402 | 17 |
| 2024 | 8,426 | 16 |
| 2025 | 8,085 | 22 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,928 | 14 |
| 2012 | 3,404 | 16 |
| 2013 | 3,095 | 22 |
| 2014 | 2,775 | 24 |
| 2015 | 2,622 | 24 |
| 2016 | 2,290 | 28 |
| 2017 | 1,942 | 32 |
| 2018 | 1,676 | 37 |
| 2019 | 1,545 | 40 |
| 2020 | 1,203 | 50 |
| 2021 | 1,150 | 54 |
| 2022 | 1,080 | 53 |
| 2023 | 900 | 60 |
| 2024 | 877 | 59 |
| 2025 | 804 | 62 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: دَانْيَال
- Armenian: Դանիել
- Bulgarian: Дании́л, Дание́л
- Catalan: Daniel
- Chinese: 丹尼爾 /丹尼尔, 達尼爾 /达尼尔
- Czech: Daniel
- Danish: Daniel
- Dutch: Daniël, Daneel
- Estonian: Tanel
- Finnish: Taneli, Daniel
- French: Daniel
- Georgian: დანიელი, დენიელი
- German: Daniel
- Greek: Ντάνιελ, Δανιήλ
- Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל
- Hungarian: Dániel
- Icelandic: Daníel
- Irish: Dónall
- Italian: Daniele
- Japanese: ダニエル

## People named Daniel

- Daniel Defoe, English trader, writer, and journalist (1660–1731)
- Daniel Radcliffe, English actor and film producer (born 1989)
- Daniel Craig, English actor (born 1968)
- Daniel Day-Lewis, British actor
- Daniel Alves, Brazilian footballer
- Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen, German nuclear physicist (1907–1973)
- Daniel Dennett, American philosopher (1942–2024)
- Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist, Nobel laureate
- Daniel Ricciardo, Australian racing driver
- Daniel Sturridge, English association football player (born 1989)
- Daniel D. Tompkins, American politician; sixth vice president of the United States (1774–1825)
- Daniel Auteuil, French actor and director (born 1950)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.