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The first name 
Daniel

Daniel is a male first name. In very rare cases it is also used for girls.

The name Daniel is very popular!

The first name Daniel is one of the top 100 most popular boys names in the US – currently at #14 in our SmartGenius ranking. Over 1,000 babies each year are named Daniel, accounting for approximately 0.70 % of all newborn boys. In total, there are currently 1,936,666 people – children, adults and seniors – named Daniel living in the United States, which is approximately 0.58 % of the entire population.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Daniel

What does the name 
Daniel mean?

Two possible origins and thus meanings can be found for the first name Daniel. Derived from the Hebrew word ‘din’ēl’ it means ‘God judges’. The second origin possibly lies in the Akkadian word ‘danānu-ēl’, which means ‘God is mighty’.

By the way…. probably the most famous biblical bearer of the name is the seer and prophet Daniel.

Several famous people are called Daniel

A versatile actor

Daniel Radcliffe (*1989)
He is a British actor who gained worldwide fame for impersonating Harry Potter in the film adaptations (2001 2011) of the novels of the same name by Joanne K. Rowling. The movies were a huge commercial success and made him world famous. Since his role as Harry Potter, Radcliffe has appeared in many other films, tv-series, and plays, such as "Horns" (2013), "Miracle Workers" (since 2019) and "Jungle" (2017), proving that he is a versatile and talented actor.

A Nobel Laureate

Daniel Bovet (1907 - 1992)
Daniel Bovet was a Swiss-Italian pharmacologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1957 for discoveries in the chemical structure and function of neurotransmitters and hormones. Bovet was also a pioneer in the development of drugs that specifically target parasites and allergic reactions. His research has contributed significantly to the development of modern therapies and has had a major impact on modern pharmacology and the treatment of disease.

A thriller author

Dan Brown (*1964)
British thriller author Daniel 'Dan' Brown is best known for his series of thrillers featuring the iconic expert Robert Langdon, including 'The Da Vinci Code' (2003) and 'Inferno' (2013). His books have a large international following and have reached many bestseller lists. Brown's novels combine historical fact and mystery with suspense and adventure. His style is often described as complex and intelligent, and he has had a significant impact on the thriller genre. Three of his books have been made into films starring Tom Hanks.

A jewish prophet

Daniel
Daniel is the main character of the book named after him in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. He was a Jewish apocalyptic, prophet, dream interpreter and seer in the Babylonian exile, to whom YHWH, the God of Israel, revealed the apocalyptic end of the world empires ruling over Judea and the subsequent eternal kingdom of God. He is often held up as a model of steadfastness and integrity, having maintained his faith in the face of threats and persecution.

Go on a journey to places 
with your name

When you hear the name Daniel, you might first think of people. But did you know that there are also places with the name Daniel? Are you also called Daniel? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...

A restaurant

The restaurant named Daniel - after French celebrity chef Daniel Boulud - belongs to the top-ranked restaurant in America and has two Michelin stars.

The Daniel...

is a mountain in the Austrian Ammergau Alps. It is a popular mountain with hikers.

Daniel -
a popular traditional name in the U.S.

History tends to focus on the most famous and the best. But even those who play second fiddle leave their mark: Daniel is one of those names without which the orchestra would be incomplete. In fact, Daniel has reached the SmartGenius top ranking of #5 more than once - and again, not too long ago, the last time being in 2008. But even though the peak of popularity was not so long ago, the name Daniel has been given to newborn boys every year since records began. Daniel is a name of exceptional, enduring popularity, carrying the special vibes of the 20th century into the 21st.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Daniel was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

Daniel has arrived in the 21st century

The popularity of the traditional name Daniel peaked only recently: the name has definitely arrived in the 21st century. Daniel has made it into the top ten more than once, in 2022 it was #14 in our statistics: the chances of meeting a Daniel are pretty high these days. Traditional names often prove to be perennial favorites, so who knows, maybe Daniel will eventually become one of the most popular names of all time.

Daniel -
a top 10 name in Arizona, at home in the entire USA

Regardless of where you live in the US, chances are you know someone called Daniel. Because: There are men and boys named Daniel in every state in the USA. If this does not sound particularly spectacular to you, you should know that of the nearly 50,000 different male first names that occur in the USA, only 386 are recorded in each individual state, so the name Daniel is definitely something very special. In some regions it even makes it into the top 10 of the most popular male first names, for example in Arizona, where Daniel ranks on place 6, making it one of the most common male first names in the entire state. The greatest chance of meeting Daniel, however, is in Alaska, where one in 61 boys and men bears this beautiful name – that is far above average – in the entire USA it is only one in 86 men and boys and in Mississippi, where the name is least represented in relation to the population, you even have to ask an average of 175 men and boys for their name before you once get Daniel as an answer.

Daniel has 6 letters 
and begins with a D

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter D is a quite popular first letter for boys’ names. That’s because 8.5% of all common boys’ names in the US begin with this letter. Only the first letters J and A are more common for boys' names.

With six letters, the name Daniel is of average length. In fact, 28% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly six letters. 24% of all first names are shorter, while 48% have seven letters or more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

Therefore: As 8.5% of all boys' names start with a D, this initial letter occurs nearly 2.5-times as often as all 26 letters on average – and the most common one of all the boys’ names starting with D is David.

Other names with 
D, a, n, i, e and l

If you take all the letters in the name Daniel – D, a, n, i, e and l – and put them together again, you can form other names, such as Daneli or others.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Daniel

If your name is Daniel and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Daniel

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Daniel, you can simply say:

Dinosaur

Apple

Nut

Igloo

Elephant

Lion

This is how the name Daniel is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Daniel in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Daniel

Daniel

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Daniel

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Daniel is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

D
A
N
I
E
L

Have you ever waved the name Daniel

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

D
A
N
I
E
L

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Daniel sounds like this: