Daniel
Top 1000
About Daniel
Daniel is one of only a handful of male names that sounds both classic and modern, strong yet approachable, and popular but not cliched. It also has a solid Old Testament pedigree. The only real downside: There are about 10,000 Daniels named each year, making it a less than distinctive choice.
Daniel is derived from the Hebrew name Daniyyel, from the elements din, meaning "judge," and ’el, "God." The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament describes the Jewish prophet’s life of captivity in Babylon and visions of the last days of Earth.
Daniel was the name of one of the greatest biblical heroes, with the inspiring story of the prophet whose faith protected him when he was thrown into a den of lions. Yet Daniel does not seem as solemn and weighty a name as other Old Testament names like Abraham and Ezekiel.
Popular since the days of Daniel Webster and Daniel Boone, Daniel is a perennial favorite, in the Top 15 names for boys every year since 1972. Daniel ranks first among all baby names starting with D.
Daniel's appeal is international, from Ireland to Israel, Finland to Chile. And its nicknames—Danny and Dan—make it sound even friendlier, though, as with other classics, many modern parents are opting to use the name in full.
Pronounced DAN-yul.
As of October 2026, Daniel ranked #22 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #5 in 2008, Nameberry popularity #155.
Editor's take: The name Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #10 | 13,956 | 7,265.5 |
| 2015 | #12 | 13,540 | 7,064.1 |
| 2016 | #13 | 12,992 | 6,846 |
| 2017 | #15 | 11,753 | 6,349.7 |
| 2018 | #15 | 11,290 | 6,216.4 |
| 2019 | #15 | 10,585 | 5,899.5 |
| 2020 | #14 | 9,521 | 5,516 |
| 2021 | #16 | 9,152 | 5,231.3 |
| 2022 | #14 | 9,109 | 5,217 |
| 2023 | #17 | 8,391 | 4,905.4 |
| 2024 | #16 | 8,391 | 4,870.3 |
| 2025 | #22 | 8,085 | 4,733.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Daniel.
- Andrew
- Matthew
- Adam
- Nicholas
- David
- Michael
- Christopher
- Joshua
- Jacob
- Nathan
- Joseph
- Anthony
- Zachary
- Samuel
- Jonathan
- Thomas
- Aaron
- Christian
- Nathaniel
- Luke
Daniel on lists
Famous Daniels
- Daniel
son of King David and Abigail (1 Chr. 3:1)
- Daniel
Biblical prophet
- Daniel
chief of the sons of Ithamar (Ezra 8:2)
- Daniel Defoe
English novelist
- Daniel Boone
American pioneer
- Daniel Parke Custis
first husband of U.S. First Lady Martha Washington
- Daniel Parke Custis
Jr., son of Daniel Custis and Martha Washington
- Daniel Webster
American politician
- Daniel Ruggles
U.S. Confederate general
- Daniel C. Roberts (1841
1907), hymnist
- Daniel "Dan" Beard
founder of the Boy Scouts of America
- Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket
American novelist
- Daniel César Martín Brühl (González Domingo)
German,Spanish actor
- Daniel Bryan (born Bryan Lloyd Danielson)
American professional wrestler
- Daniel Leroy Baldwin
American actor
- Daniel Lemkus
vegan lifestyle youtuber from New Zealand
- Daniel Dae Hyun Kim
Korean,American actor
- Daniel Michael Blake Day
Lewis, English actor
- Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito
American actor
- Daniel Wroughton Craig
English actor
- Daniel Jonathan "Dan" Stevens
English actor
- Daniel "Dan" DeCarlo
American cartoonist
- Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino
American football player
- Daniel "Dani" Pedrosa
Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
American politician
- Daniel Erik Sedin
Swedish ice hockey player
- Daniel Alan David "Danny" Jones
musician of band McFly
- Daniel Dwight Tosh
American comedian
- Daniel "Skip" Sahyounie
member of the Janoskians
- Daniel Jacob Radcliffe
English actor
- Daniel Joshua Gillies
Canadian actor
- Daniel Paille
Canadian NHL Hockey player
- Daniel Santos
Puerto Rican boleros composer and singer of caribbean music
- Daniel Andrew Sharman
English actor
- Daniel Phillip Henney
Korean,American actor and model
- Daniel Dewan Sewell aka Danny Brown
American rapper
- Daniel William "Danny" Wood
singer of American group New Kids On The Block
- Daniel Wayne Smith
son of model/actress Anna Nicole Smith
- Daniel "Danny" Way
American pro skateboarder
- Daniel Woods
American rock climber
- Daniel Mark Nestor
Canadian tennis player
- Daniel "Danny" Murillo
from group "Hollywood Undead"
- Daniel "Dan" Carter
New Zealand rugby player
- Daniel "Dan" Campbell Smith
lead singer of band Bastille
- Daniel Lambert
English sportsman
- Daniel Clement Dennett III
American philosopher
- Daniel "Danny" Gonzalo Pino
American actor
- Daniel Pearl
journalist with American and Israeli citizenship, kidnapped by Pakistani militants and later murdered in Pakistan
- Daniel Robert "Dan" Middleton aka DanTDM
English YouTuber
- Daniel Anthony "Danger" Padilla aka Smosh
American YouTuber
- Daniel Goodfellow
British diver
- Daniel Kyre
sketch comedian from YouTube
- Daniel Wu Yin
cho, Chinese,American actor, director, and producer
- Daniel James Seavey
American pop singer
- Daniel Coulter "Dan" Reynolds
American musician of band Imagine Dragons
- (Daniel) Wayne "Wing" Sermon
American musician of band Imagine Dragons
- Daniel James Platzman
American musician of band Imagine Dragons
- Daniel Stewart
Australian actor and son of Patrick Stewart
- Daniel Neeson
son of actors Liam Neeson and the late Natasha Richardson
- Daniel Isaam Stapp (b. 2010)
son of American singer Scott Stapp
- Daniel James "Dan" Howell
British video blogger and former radio personality
- Daniel Salloi
Hungarian soccer player
- Daniel Christopher Preda
American Instagram blogger
- Daniel J. Layton
British YouTuber
- Daniel Amartey
Ghanaian footballer
- Daniel Podence
Portuguese professional footballer
- Daniel Wass
Danish professional footballer
- Daniel Joseph Ricciardo
Australian Formula 1 driver
- Daniel Kang
Korean singer of boy group Wanna One
- Prince Daniel (born Olof Daniel Westling)
Duke of Västergötland, husband of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
- Daniel Charles Handley (b. 1985)
9,year,old British boy who was abducted, sexually abused and strangled to death in 1994
- Daniel Dae Kim
Actor
Daniel in pop culture
- Daniel LeBlanc
a supporting character and the father of one of the main protagonists, Marie,Laure LeBlanc in 'All The Light We Cannot See'
- Daniel Jackson
character in the film "Saving Private Ryan"
- Daniel Desario
character on TV's "Freaks and Geeks"
- Daniel Jackson
character on "Stargate SG,1"
- "Daniel Deronda
" novel by George Eliot and its main character
- Daniel Faraday
character on TV's 'Lost'
- Daniel Plainview
main character in movie "There Will Be Blood"
- Daniel
main character in game "Amnesia: The Dark Descent"
- Daniel "Dan" Humphrey
character on "Gossip Girl"
- Daniel LaRusso
main character of "The Karate Kid" franchise
- Daniel
Emilio Estevez's character in "The Way"
- Daniel "Danny" Fenton
character in Nickelodeon's "Danny Phantom"
- J.Daniel Atlas
from the movie "Now You See Me"
- Daniel " Dan" Cahill
character from the "39 Clues" series
- Daniel Slippery
character on "Fortysomething"
- Daniel "Danny" Edward Morgan
character on American soap "General Hospital"
- Daniel Turpin
character in DC Universe
- Daniel "Danny" MaccabDee III
from movie "Just Go With It"
- Daniel "Danny" Messer
character on "CSI: NY"
- Daniel Altan Wing aka 'Day
' hero of Marie Lu's Legend Trilogy.
- Daniel "Danny" Zuko
character in movie/musical "Grease"
- Daniel "Danny" Torrance
character in book/movie "The Shining"
- Daniel Grigori
a main character in the "Fallen" series (Lauren Kate)
- Daniel "Danny" Ocean
main character in movies "Ocean's Eleven," "Ocean's Twelve," and "Ocean's Thirteen"
- Daniel Holden
main character in the TV series, "Rectify"
- Daniel Rodriguez
character in the "Sims" series
- Daniel "Manly Dan" Corduroy
character in "Gravity Falls"
- Daniel
character in video game 'Fallout New Vegas, Honest Hearts'
- Daniel Sempere
main character in the book "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, also featured in sequel "The Prisoner of Heaven"
- Daniel
a character from "The Dead,Tossed Waves" by Carrie Ryan
- Daniel "Dan" Espinoza
character on the TV series "Lucifer"
- Daniel
character in Aphmau's YouTube series
- Daniel/Danila
character in webcomic "Drugs and Wires"
- "Daniel
" song by Elton John
- "Daniel
" song by Bat for Lashes
- "Daniel
" song by Devendra Bernhart
- Daniel "Dan" Conner
main character in TV sitcom "Roseanne"
- Daniel Ramos "Denver"
one of the main characters in series “Money Heist”
- Daniel Hayward
character from Netflix's "Greenhouse Academy"
- Daniel
character from Canadian TV Show "The Next Step"
- Daniel from Damn Daniel!
known to wear white vans
- Daniel
character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"
- Daniel "Oz" Osbourne
character from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
Variations & nicknames
- DanilaRussian
- DainéalIrish Gaelic
- DankoCzech
- TaneliFinnish
- DaniellRussian
- DainialIrish Gaelic
- DaniloUkranian
- DoneloSpanish
- DaneelDutch
- DanoCzech
- DanialoSpanish
- DaniilRussian
- DanieleItalian
- DacsoHungarian
- DanilkaRussian
- DanilRussian
- DanyaRussian
- DeiniolWelsh
- DannelSwiss
- DanielsLatvian
- DaneilEastern European
- DanialFrench
- DanyloRussian
- DaneleBasque
- DaniyelIsraeli
- NiloSpanish
- NeloSpanish
- DanekCzech
- DaniIsraeli