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.

# 17 in the US

Daniel Rank in US Top 1000

# 111 on Nameberry

Daniel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Daniel Popularity

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

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"