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’.
Daniel is a male first name. In very rare cases it is also used for girls.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
The restaurant named Daniel - after French celebrity chef Daniel Boulud - belongs to the top-ranked restaurant in America and has two Michelin stars.
is a mountain in the Austrian Ammergau Alps. It is a popular mountain with hikers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Daniel, you can simply say:
Dinosaur
Apple
Nut
Igloo
Elephant
Lion
Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.
Daniel
Daniel
Just use American Sign Language!
These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.
D
A
N
I
E
L
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
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:
