Daniel

What Daniel means

Means “God is my judge”

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.

Source: Wiktionary, “Daniel” (revision 94538693), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Daniel?

US: Falling: down from #12 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #24 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1985, when 38,559 boys got the name (#5 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 211 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 338 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 198 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (10.29 per 1,000 boys), AK (9.68 per 1,000 boys), HI (8.91 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Daniel is #22 in the US and #62 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Daniel were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Danilo147 US · 5 E&W
• Danial9 US · 8 E&W
• Danniel9 US
• Daniell5 US
• Doniel5 US
• Daniele0 US · 4 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Dan
• Danny

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Daniel

Boys

• David#35“beloved”^*
• Joe#991Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1936, with 8,023 babies; 230 in 2025
• Joseph#29“(God) shall add”^*
• Mathew#973Variant of Matthew, meaning “gift of the Lord”^*
• Joshua#66“to save”^*
• Jonathan#89“God has given”^*

For a sister

• Michelle#465Feminine form of Michel, meaning “who is like God?”^*
• Jessica#665possibly “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe…^*
• Samantha#151“listener”^*
• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Sarah#90“masters, princes”^*
• Jamie#857Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 12,895 babies; 316 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Daniel’s. Rank is US 2025.