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Daniel

Gender
Boy
Say it
DAN-yel
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#56 for boys
US rank, 2025
#22 for boys
Style
Timeless

Daniel is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God is my judge”. In 2025 it ranked 56th for boys in the UK (956 babies) and 22nd for boys in the US (8,085 babies).

What does Daniel mean?

Hebrew: from Hebrew Daniyyel

“God is my judge”

In the Bible Daniel was a prophet who survived a night in the lions' den.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Daniel a girl's or a boy's name?

Daniel is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 956 boys in the UK and 8 girls and 8,085 boys in the US.

How popular is Daniel in the UK?

Rank in 2025
56th among boys
Babies in 2025
956 about 1 in 310 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 43% in five years
Same name in a class
4.4% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 956 boys in the UK were named Daniel, making it the 56th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 46th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 10,985 boys.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 17 years. 2025 had the fewest boys named Daniel since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the boys named Daniel in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2011. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 62nd in England and Wales, 43rd in Scotland and 34th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#57), 1914 (#59), 1924 (#72), 1934 (#71), 1944 (#82), 1954 (#73), 1964 (#53), 1974 (#16), 1984 (#4), 1994 (#4), 2004 (#5), 2014 (#24) and 2024 (#59).

1996Busiest: 10,985 in 19962025
Daniel in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025956#56
20241,015#55
20231,086#55
20221,307#48
20211,378#50
20201,446#46
20191,866#32
20182,031#30
20172,307#29
20162,695#25
20153,092#21
20143,360#20
20133,655#15
20124,039#15
20114,550#13
20105,016#10
20095,152#10
20085,978#6
20075,888#7
20065,467#7
20055,923#5
20046,391#5
20036,388#5
20026,099#5
20016,344#5
20006,842#5
19997,550#5
19988,428#4
19979,801#4
199610,985#2

How popular is Daniel in the US?

Rank in 2025
22nd among boys
Babies in 2025
8,085 about 1 in 210 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 21% in five years
Same name in a class
6.4% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 8,085 boys in the US were named Daniel, making it the 22nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 14th. Its busiest year was 1985, with 38,559 boys. 8 girls were also named Daniel in 2025 (10,913th for girls).

2025 had fewer boys named Daniel than any year since 1941.

Half of all the boys named Daniel in the US since 1880 were born between 1960 and 1995, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 38,559 in 19852025
Daniel in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20258,085#22
20248,426#16
20238,402#17
20229,121#14
20219,162#16
20209,530#14
201910,592#15
201811,296#15
201711,758#15
201612,996#13
201513,543#12
201413,961#10
201314,326#10
201214,304#11
201115,307#10
201015,869#8
200917,564#7
200819,032#5
200720,268#5
200620,082#6
200520,236#7
200421,018#7
200321,072#8
200221,352#10
200121,013#9
200022,338#9
199922,704#9
199823,165#12
199723,950#11
199625,128#11
199526,728#9
199428,065#8
199328,698#7
199229,157#7
199130,935#6
199033,830#5
198935,007#6
198834,718#8
198735,876#7
198636,573#6
198538,559#5
198436,531#6
198334,748#8
198232,652#10
198130,985#10
198029,888#11
197928,521#12
197826,441#11
197726,073#11
197624,702#10
197523,814#11
197423,833#11
197323,672#11
197222,092#15
197121,785#20
197023,521#19
196923,165#18
196822,012#18
196722,192#19
196623,269#19
196524,833#17
196424,342#19
196324,815#19
196225,543#17
196125,904#17
196025,945#17
195925,155#18
195825,619#16
195727,337#16
195626,655#18
195526,460#17
195425,275#18
195323,498#20
195223,418#20
195121,121#21
195019,189#21
194918,240#22
194816,510#22
194715,189#22
194612,867#21
19459,708#24
19449,314#25
19439,168#25
19428,507#28
19417,050#31
19406,225#34
19395,797#38
19385,583#39
19375,124#39
19364,817#41
19354,591#43
19344,502#42
19334,310#42
19324,449#42
19314,360#44
19304,465#47
19294,366#47
19284,426#47
19274,615#46
19264,516#46
19254,548#44
19244,403#47
19234,264#47
19224,285#47
19214,087#49
19203,897#52
19193,526#51
19183,726#52
19173,360#54
19163,149#55
19153,002#55
19142,325#55
19131,878#54
19121,524#53
1911796#53
1910692#53
1909569#54
1908530#54
1907528#52
1906506#48
1905484#50
1904472#49
1903432#50
1902501#45
1901416#48
1900598#44
1899485#42
1898523#45
1897520#39
1896561#38
1895516#40
1894515#41
1893522#39
1892533#41
1891505#37
1890505#39
1889515#36
1888566#35
1887556#31
1886555#33
1885535#32
1884573#32
1883615#25
1882594#29
1881527#29
1880643#25

Nicknames for Daniel

Names like Daniel

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Michael, David, Adam, Matthew, Nathan, Benjamin, Joshua, Joseph, Samuel, Patrick, Aaron, Toby

Other spellings of Daniel

Danniel, Danyel, Daniell

Names related to Daniel

Daniyal, Danial, Daniele, Daniil, Danilo, Daniyaal, Danil

More Hebrew names

Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Elias, Mateo, Elsie, Levi

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Daniel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/daniel, updated 20 October 2026.