Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys
Origin: HebrewDaniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge" and derives from two early biblical figures, primary among them Daniel from the Book of Daniel.
From Wikipedia
In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Daniel yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.
Daniel peaked in 1985 at 38,564 births — more than four times its current count — and the name has been declining steadily since, down 40% over just the past decade to 8,391 in 2024, the second-steepest ten-year percentage drop in this batch, behind only Ava's 45%.
It's been recorded since 1880 and has held a top-20 rank continuously for most of the past several decades, meaning its current #16 position, while down from a 1985 rank of #5, still represents remarkable staying power for a name this far past its peak.
Its famous-bearer list spans jazz (Louis Armstrong, whose middle name was Daniel), literature (Daniel Defoe), and film (Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Craig) — a name that has apparently supplied recognizable public figures in every generation since the 1900s without needing a fresh cultural spike to stay in circulation, even as its raw birth numbers fall.
Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.
→ See names similar to Daniel · Compare Daniel with another name → · Popular names of the 1980s · Boys names starting with D
Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 643 | #25 |
| 1881 | 527 | #29 |
| 1882 | 594 | #29 |
| 1883 | 615 | #25 |
| 1884 | 573 | #32 |
| 1885 | 535 | #32 |
| 1886 | 555 | #33 |
| 1887 | 556 | #31 |
| 1888 | 566 | #35 |
| 1889 | 515 | #36 |
| 1890 | 505 | #39 |
| 1891 | 505 | #37 |
| 1892 | 533 | #41 |
| 1893 | 522 | #39 |
| 1894 | 515 | #41 |
| 1895 | 516 | #40 |
| 1896 | 561 | #38 |
| 1897 | 520 | #39 |
| 1898 | 523 | #45 |
| 1899 | 485 | #42 |
| 1900 | 598 | #44 |
| 1901 | 416 | #48 |
| 1902 | 501 | #45 |
| 1903 | 432 | #50 |
| 1904 | 472 | #49 |
| 1905 | 484 | #50 |
| 1906 | 506 | #48 |
| 1907 | 528 | #52 |
| 1908 | 530 | #54 |
| 1909 | 569 | #54 |
| 1910 | 692 | #53 |
| 1911 | 796 | #53 |
| 1912 | 1,524 | #53 |
| 1913 | 1,878 | #54 |
| 1914 | 2,325 | #55 |
| 1915 | 3,002 | #55 |
| 1916 | 3,149 | #55 |
| 1917 | 3,360 | #54 |
| 1918 | 3,726 | #52 |
| 1919 | 3,526 | #51 |
| 1920 | 3,897 | #52 |
| 1921 | 4,087 | #49 |
| 1922 | 4,285 | #47 |
| 1923 | 4,264 | #47 |
| 1924 | 4,403 | #47 |
| 1925 | 4,548 | #44 |
| 1926 | 4,516 | #46 |
| 1927 | 4,615 | #46 |
| 1928 | 4,426 | #47 |
| 1929 | 4,366 | #47 |
| 1930 | 4,465 | #47 |
| 1931 | 4,360 | #44 |
| 1932 | 4,449 | #42 |
| 1933 | 4,310 | #42 |
| 1934 | 4,502 | #42 |
| 1935 | 4,591 | #43 |
| 1936 | 4,817 | #41 |
| 1937 | 5,123 | #39 |
| 1938 | 5,584 | #39 |
| 1939 | 5,797 | #38 |
| 1940 | 6,225 | #34 |
| 1941 | 7,049 | #31 |
| 1942 | 8,507 | #28 |
| 1943 | 9,168 | #25 |
| 1944 | 9,314 | #25 |
| 1945 | 9,708 | #24 |
| 1946 | 12,867 | #21 |
| 1947 | 15,189 | #22 |
| 1948 | 16,509 | #22 |
| 1949 | 18,240 | #22 |
| 1950 | 19,189 | #21 |
| 1951 | 21,121 | #21 |
| 1952 | 23,420 | #20 |
| 1953 | 23,499 | #20 |
| 1954 | 25,275 | #18 |
| 1955 | 26,458 | #17 |
| 1956 | 26,653 | #18 |
| 1957 | 27,339 | #16 |
| 1958 | 25,615 | #16 |
| 1959 | 25,156 | #18 |
| 1960 | 25,938 | #17 |
| 1961 | 25,898 | #17 |
| 1962 | 25,542 | #17 |
| 1963 | 24,816 | #19 |
| 1964 | 24,343 | #19 |
| 1965 | 24,834 | #17 |
| 1966 | 23,270 | #19 |
| 1967 | 22,193 | #19 |
| 1968 | 22,015 | #18 |
| 1969 | 23,165 | #18 |
| 1970 | 23,521 | #19 |
| 1971 | 21,787 | #20 |
| 1972 | 22,091 | #15 |
| 1973 | 23,673 | #11 |
| 1974 | 23,834 | #11 |
| 1975 | 23,816 | #11 |
| 1976 | 24,704 | #10 |
| 1977 | 26,074 | #11 |
| 1978 | 26,442 | #11 |
| 1979 | 28,521 | #12 |
| 1980 | 29,895 | #11 |
| 1981 | 30,989 | #10 |
| 1982 | 32,654 | #10 |
| 1983 | 34,748 | #8 |
| 1984 | 36,533 | #6 |
| 1985 | 38,564 | #5 |
| 1986 | 36,574 | #6 |
| 1987 | 35,875 | #7 |
| 1988 | 34,718 | #8 |
| 1989 | 35,009 | #6 |
| 1990 | 33,831 | #5 |
| 1991 | 30,932 | #6 |
| 1992 | 29,157 | #7 |
| 1993 | 28,694 | #7 |
| 1994 | 28,062 | #8 |
| 1995 | 26,727 | #9 |
| 1996 | 25,125 | #11 |
| 1997 | 23,950 | #11 |
| 1998 | 23,162 | #12 |
| 1999 | 22,705 | #9 |
| 2000 | 22,337 | #9 |
| 2001 | 21,013 | #9 |
| 2002 | 21,350 | #10 |
| 2003 | 21,069 | #8 |
| 2004 | 21,012 | #7 |
| 2005 | 20,234 | #7 |
| 2006 | 20,079 | #6 |
| 2007 | 20,264 | #5 |
| 2008 | 19,030 | #5 |
| 2009 | 17,563 | #7 |
| 2010 | 15,865 | #8 |
| 2011 | 15,304 | #10 |
| 2012 | 14,301 | #11 |
| 2013 | 14,323 | #10 |
| 2014 | 13,956 | #10 |
| 2015 | 13,540 | #12 |
| 2016 | 12,992 | #13 |
| 2017 | 11,753 | #15 |
| 2018 | 11,290 | #15 |
| 2019 | 10,585 | #15 |
| 2020 | 9,521 | #14 |
| 2021 | 9,152 | #16 |
| 2022 | 9,109 | #14 |
| 2023 | 8,391 | #17 |
| 2024 | 8,391 | #16 |
