Daniel · Daily fortune

Daniel is a masculine name of Hebrew origin. It comes from דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel), "God is my judge", built from the roots din ("to judge") and ʾel ("God"). The biblical Daniel was a prophet who lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, served at the king's court and rose to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams; the Book of Daniel also records his four visions of the end of the world. The name entered English use in the Middle Ages, became rare by the 15th century, and was revived after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it ranked #22 for boys in 2025, and it has previously reached #5 (1985, 1990, 2007 and 2008).

Behind the Name derives Daniel from the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", "from the roots דִּין (din) meaning 'to judge' and אֵל (ʾel) meaning 'God'". Wikipedia gives the same Hebrew form (transliterated Daniyyel or Dāniyyêl) and the same gloss, "God is my judge", adding that the name derives from two early biblical figures, chief among them the Daniel of the Book of Daniel. The two sources agree on both the elements and the meaning, so the etymology is treated here as established.

The name's fame rests on the prophet Daniel, whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. According to Behind the Name he lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, served in the court of the king and rose to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams; the book also presents his four visions of the end of the world. Because of the biblical character's popularity, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages, but it had become rare by the 15th century and was revived only after the Protestant Reformation. Wikipedia notes that the name has been particularly well used in Ireland and that it has evolved into over 100 different spellings around the world. Later bearers named by Behind the Name include the English author Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), the Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782) and the American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734–1820). In the United States the name reached its peak position of #5 in 1985, 1990, 2007 and 2008.

Daniel ranked #22 for boys in the United States in 2025 (Social Security Administration). Wikipedia, citing the SSA, records the name's peak as fifth place for newborns in 1985, 1990, 2007 and 2008. In Canada it ranked 27th in 2016 and was the 31st most popular boys' name in 2022. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 surname data placed the patronymic surname Daniels at 182nd and Daniel at 380th.

English Daniel is /ˈdæn.jəl/, two syllables with the stress on the first. The spelling Daniel is itself used across a large part of Europe, from French and German to Polish, Spanish and Romanian, with the stress and vowels shifting by language; other languages use their own forms. The IPA below is what Behind the Name lists for each language; where the entry gave only a form and no pronunciation, this pass says so rather than guessing.

Daniel sits in the group of biblical boys' names that have stayed in constant American use without ever feeling dated: it has a formal full form, a friendly everyday short form in Dan or Danny, and a meaning parents can explain in one line. Because the same spelling is used from France to Romania, it also travels unusually well for families with ties to more than one country. Parents who like it tend to weigh it against other Old Testament standards such as Samuel, Benjamin, Nathan and Joseph.

Daniel's namesakes run from the biblical prophet to writers, scientists and frontiersmen. The bearers below are the ones named in the Behind the Name entry consulted for this profile; the Wikipedia article defers to a separate list of people with the given name, which was not mined.

Names that share Daniel's biblical register, its Hebrew origin, or its sound.