The meaning of the name “Daniel” is: “God is my Judge”.
Additional information: Daniel is a masculine name of Hebrew origin, coming from the Hebrew prophet Daniel (Hebrew “Daniyyel”, Ancient Greek “Δανιήλ”), meaning ‘God is my judge’, from the Book of Daniel in the Bible. He existed throughout the Jewish bondage in Babylon, serving the King’s court, climbing to conspicuousness by deciphering the King’s dreams. He survived a politically motivated death sentence in a lions' den and a fiery furnace. The book additionally displays Daniel's four visions of the apocalypse.
Dan and Danny are popular diminutives for Hebrew and English around the world, while “Daan” and "Daniel" are two Dutch variations. Other variants of Daniela (Dani, Daniella, Danielle) are popular as feminine forms of Daniel. As biblical names go, it is one of the less formal sounding ones, and is much easier to shorten and simplify than the weightier names like Gabriel or Ezekiel – similar simple biblical names are Adam, Joshua, and Jacob. Although many countries use the spelling ‘Daniel’ and then pronounce it differently, some romance languages spell it differently, such as the Spanish and Portuguese ‘Danilo’. Misspellings tend to be misplacements of the vowels – ‘Dainel’, ‘Daneil’, or ‘Danial’.
The popularity of the name Daniel arise in England during Middle Ages, while it became rare during the 15th century and started gaining popularity after the Protestant Reformation.
The name Daniel has not fallen out of the top hundred names for boys since 1880, but it saw particular popularity during the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s, peaking at fifth position in 1985, 1990, 2007 and 2008. It saw a brief period of use as a girls name during the seventies and the eighties in the USA, but it never made it into the top 500 names. Daniel was the sixth most popular boy's name in the US in 2006, and the ninth most popular in the UK, climbing at the top 10 of the most popular names in USA in 2013, at number 10. Daniel has been declining in popularity in England and Wales since 1996, falling from the second most popular name for boys in 1996 to 22nd in 2014.
Famous people named Daniel include Daniel Craig (English actor), Daniel Radcliffe (English actor), Daniel Day-Lewis (English actor), and Daniel Powter (Canadian singer). Famous fictional characters named Daniel are the eponymous Daniel Isaacson from the novel The Book of Daniel, and Daniel Deronda from George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda.
The American pioneer Daniel Boone has attracted several legends to his name, escaping from Native Americans on multiple occasions, killing a she-bear with just his knife, and he was written about by Lord Byron in Don Juan.
Pronunciation: (DAN yul); (DA nee el) Form of: Itself (Daniel) Celebrity Names & Famous real-life people:
Dan Castellaneta, American actor, the voice of Homer Simpson
Dan Carter, New Zealand professional Rugby Union player
Daniel M. Krumrei, first chaplain to serve as an adjutant general
Daniel Malek, Czech breaststroke swimmer
Danny Gomes, Portuguese association football player
Daniel Schlereth, baseball pitcher
Daniel Mendoza, English world champion Hall of Fame heavyweight boxer
Daniel M. Tani (born 1961), American astronaut
Daniel Johnston, American singer-songwriter
Daniil Simkin, soloist with American Ballet Theatre
Daniel Jarque, Spanish association football player
Daniel Craig, English actor
Dan Snow, British television presenter
Danny Auerbach ("Solly Krieger"), American world champion middleweight boxer
Daniel Negreanu, Romanian-Canadian professional poker player
Daniel Niculae, Romanian association football player
Daniel arap Moi, (born 1924), 2nd President of Kenya
Daniel Bernoulli, (1700–1782), Dutch-Swiss mathematician
Danny DeVito, American actor
Daniel Gibson, Cleveland Cavaliers guard
Danny Shittu, Nigerian association football player
Danny Murphy, English association football player
Daniel Alfredsson, Swedish hockey player
Dan Brown, American author, writer of The Da Vinci Code among others
Daniel Vasella (born 1953), Swiss businessman
Dan Ben-Amotz (1924–89), Israeli writer, journalist, screenwriter, and actor
Danny Thomas, Welsh association football player
Dan Kutler, American-born Israeli Olympic swimmer
Danny Valencia, American major league baseball third baseman (Minnesota Twins)
Daniel Passarella, Argentine association football player and manager
Daniel Radcliffe, British actor best known for acting the main role in Harry Potter films
Dan Butler (1954- ), American actor
Danny La Rue, Irish-British entertainer
Daniel Chan, Hong Kong singer and actor
Danny Schayes, American NBA basketball center/forward (son of Dolph Schayes)
Danil Yerdakov (born 1989), Russian ice hockey player
Daniel Aranzubia, Spanish association football player
Daniel Prenn, German & British world-top-ten tennis player
Dan Curry, visual effects producer most noted for his work on the Star Trek series of movies and TV shows
Daniel Lins Cortes, Brazilian association football player
Daniel Steres, American professional soccer player
Dan Majerle, American basketball player
Danny!, American record producer/hip-hop performer
Daniel Lopez (footballer), Chilean association football player
Daniil Granin, Soviet/Russian writer
Daniel Lyon (wrestler) (born 1980), American professional wrestler
Daniel Fernandes, Portuguese-Canadian association football player
Daniel Murphy, American baseball player
Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian international footballer, currently playing for Bayern Munich
Daniel Ciobotea, Romanian Orthodox patriarch
Dan Jansen, American speed skater, Olympic gold medalist
Daniil Kharms, early Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist
Daniel Day-Lewis, English actor
Daniel Drezner, American political scientist and author
Daniel Henney, Korean-American actor and model
Daniel Greenstein, PSIA- Snowboarder
Daniel Sedin, Swedish ice hockey player
Daniel Guiza, Spanish association football player
Danny Guthrie, English association football player
Daniel Ortega, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician
Danny Welbeck, English professional Association Football player
Danny Simpson, English association football player
Daniel Armand Lee (a.k.a. Tablo), Korean-Canadian hip hop artist, songwriter and lyricist
Danny Blind, Dutch association football player and manager
Daniel Raditch, fictional character in Degrassi: The Next Generation
Daniel Gygax, Swiss association football player
Dan Marino, American football player
Daniel Colla, Argentine volleyball player
Daniel Lozada, Peruvian economist and politician
Danny Glover, American actor
Daniel Pacheco, Spanish association football player
Danny Dyer, English actor
Daniel Sturridge, English association football player
Dan Aykroyd (born 1952), Canadian-American actor
Daniel Defoe, English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer.
Daniel Parejo, Spanish association football player
Dan Kellner, American champion foil fencer
Daniel Chi?oiu, Romanian economist
Daniel Brailovsky, Argentinean-Uruguayan association football player (Argentina, Uruguay, & Israel national teams)
Dan Kowarsky, Canadian singer, B4-4/RyanDan
Daniel Mameri, Brazilian water polo player
Dan Beard (1850–1941), founder of the Boy Scouts of America
Daniel Johns, Australian vocalist, composer, guitarist and pianist
Daniel D. Tompkins, 6th Vice President of the United States
Daniel Spivak (born 1988), Canadian ice hockey player
Daniel Fathers, British actor
Prince Daniyal, Prince of Mughal Empire and son of Emperor Akbar the Great
Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian
Dan Weinstein, American 3x world champion speed skater
Danny John-Jules, British actor and dancer
Daniel Carrico, Portuguese association football player
Danny Hay, New Zealand association football player
Daniel Plinski, Polish volleyball player
Daniel Bailey, sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda
Daniel Alves (born 1983), Brazilian international footballer, currently playing for Barcelona
Daniel Dennett, American philosopher
Daniel Schwaab, German association football player
Daniel Killer, Argentine association football player
Daniel Bertoni, Argentine association football player
Daniel Castellani, Argentine volleyball player and coach
Daniel Kahneman (born 1934), Israeli psychologist and Nobel laureate
Daniel Lewis, Canadian volleyball player
Daniel Davis, American actor
Dan Grunfeld (born 1984), American professional basketball player
Daniel Hudson, American baseball pitcher
Daniel Barenboim, Argentine-Israeli pianist and conductor
Considering Daniel as a Baby Name?
The first thing you should know if you are considering Daniel for your baby's name is that in most countries all over the world the name Daniel is a boy name.
The name Daniel is of Hebrew origin, and is used in more than one countries and different languages of the world, especially Czech speaking countries, Dutch speaking countries, English speaking countries, French speaking countries, German speaking countries, Hebrew speaking countries, Polish speaking countries, Portuguese speaking countries, Romanian speaking countries, Spanish speaking countries among others.
If you consider naming your baby Daniel we recommend you take note of the special meaning and history of the name as your baby’s name will play a big role in its life and your baby will hear it spoken every day. Searching for a name is a very important and fun process as it’s the very first gift you will give to your baby. Many people believe that the name can affect success in life, through their children's working career and other circumstances, so they choose more “respectable” names or name meanings as they believe that the name meaning reflects the personality of the child.
Daniel Name Meaning
The meaning of Daniel is “God is my Judge”. Keep in mind that many names may have different meanings in other countries and languages, so be careful that the name that you choose doesn’t mean something bad or unpleasant. Search comprehensively and find the name meaning of Daniel and its name origin or of any other name in our database. Also note the spelling and the pronunciation of the name Daniel and check the initials of the name with your last name to discover how it looks and sounds. The history and meaning of the name Daniel is fascinating, learn more about it. (If you know more meanings of the name and you would like to contribute click here to submit another name meaning).
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Name Daniel Categories
The name Daniel is in the following categories: American Names, Armenian Names, Australian Names, Austrian Names, Biblical Names, Canadian Names, Celebrity Names, Christian Names, Classic Names, Czech Names, Dutch Names, English Names, French Names, German Names, Hebrew Names, Jewish Names, New Zealand Names, Polish Names, Popular Names, Scandinavian Names, Spanish Names. (If you would like to suggest one or more categories for the name, click here). We have plenty of different baby name categories to search for special meanings plus popular and unique names, search our database before choosing but also note that baby name categories designed to help you and not to be an influential factor when choosing a name. Instead, we recommend that you pay a greater attention to the origin and meaning of the name Daniel. Read our baby name articles for useful tips regarding baby names and naming your baby. If you are thinking of giving your baby the beautiful name Daniel, spread the love and share this with your friends.
Popularity of the Name Daniel
Below you will find the popularity of the baby name Daniel displayed annually, from 1880 to the present day in our name popularity chart. Hover over or click on the dots that represent a year to see how many babies were given the name for that year, for both genders, if available.
Daniel Boy Name Popularity Chart
Daniel Girl Name Popularity Chart
Note:The data above is from the Social Security Administrator of United States, (more info here) from Social Security card applications for births in US for every name, from 1880 up to the present year. The gender associated with the name might be incorrect, as the data presents the record applications without being edited for errors. The name's popularity and ranking is announced annually, so the data for this year will not be available until next year. The more babies that are given a name, the higher popularity ranking the name receives. For names with the same popularity, the tie is solved by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. This means that if two or more names have the same popularity their rankings may differ significantly, as they are set in alphabetical order. If a name has less than five occurrences, the SSA excludes it from the provided data to protect privacy.
If you’re not sure yet, see our wide selection of both boy names and girl names all over the world to find the ideal name for your new born baby. We offer a comprehensive and meaningful list of popular names and cool names along with the name's origin, meaning, pronunciation, popularity and additional information.
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Do your research and choose a name wisely, kindly and selflessly.
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