Daniel

Hebrew

"God is my judge"

Daniel Origin and Meaning

The name Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge".

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.

Daniel Rank in US Top 1000

# 16 in the US

Daniel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 138 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Daniel

• 16 US 2024
• 138 Nameberry 2025
• 29 Canada 2023
• 32 Future 2035
• 60 England 2023
• 52 Scotland 2024
• 11 Ireland 2024
• 80 Australia 2024
• 38 New Zealand 2024
• 68 Germany 2024
• 42 Netherlands 2019
• 50 Italy 2022
• 10 Spain 2023
• 33 Portugal 2020
• 7 Mexico 2021
• 25 Brazil 2021
• 95 Sweden 2024
• 39 Norway 2019
• 20 Finland 2024
• 18 Iceland 2014
• 89 Belgium 2023
• 46 Switzerland 2023
• 53 Austria 2023
• 50 Poland 2024
• 82 Estonia 2024
• 16 Israel 2023
• 48 Chile 2021

20 Names Similar to Daniel

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Daniel.

• Andrew
• Matthew
• Adam
• Nicholas
• David
• Michael
• Joshua
• Christopher
• Jacob
• Joseph
• Nathan
• Samuel
• Anthony
• Zachary
• Jonathan
• Thomas
• Aaron
• John
• Luke
• Christian

Famous People Named Daniel

• 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

The name 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"

International Variations of the name Daniel

• Danila Russian
• Dainéal Irish Gaelic
• Danko Czech
• Taneli Finnish
• Daniell Russian
• Dainial Irish Gaelic
• Danilo Ukranian
• Donelo Spanish
• Daneel Dutch
• Dano Czech
• Danialo Spanish
• Daniil Russian
• Daniele Italian
• Dacso Hungarian
• Danilka Russian
• Danil Russian
• Danya Russian
• Deiniol Welsh
• Dannel Swiss
• Daniels Latvian
• Daneil Eastern European
• Danial French
• Danylo Russian
• Danele Basque
• Daniyel Israeli
• Nilo Spanish
• Nelo Spanish
• Danek Czech
• Dani Israeli