Meaning and history
This name comes from the Hebrew דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel), meaning “God is my judge,” from דִּין (din), “to judge,” and אֵל (ʾel), “God.” Daniel was a Hebrew prophet in the Book of Daniel, where he is described as living during the Jewish captivity in Babylon and rising in the king’s court by interpreting dreams, while the book also records his four visions of the end of the world. Because of the biblical figure’s popularity, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages, became rare by the 15th century, and was later revived after the Protestant Reformation. Notable bearers include the English author Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), the Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), and the American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734–1820).
20062006: 20,082 births, rank #6
2007: 20,268 births, rank #5
2008: 19,032 births, rank #5
2009: 17,564 births, rank #7
2010: 15,869 births, rank #8
20112011: 15,307 births, rank #10
2012: 14,304 births, rank #11
2013: 14,326 births, rank #10
2014: 13,961 births, rank #10
2015: 13,543 births, rank #12
20162016: 12,996 births, rank #13
2017: 11,758 births, rank #15
2018: 11,296 births, rank #15
2019: 10,592 births, rank #15
2020: 9,530 births, rank #14
20212021: 9,162 births, rank #16
2022: 9,121 births, rank #14
2023: 8,402 births, rank #17
2024: 8,426 births, rank #16
20252025: 8,085 births, rank #22
Daniel has unusual staying power. It appears in the US records as early as 1880 and still ranks #22 for boys in 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1985, with 38,559 births.