Daniel
Daniel was given to 8,085 boys in 2025, #22 among boys’ names; 1,991,091 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1.62 million Americans named Daniel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 41 years old and half are between 27 and 57.
Daniel is the #9 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Daniel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Daniel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Daniel is “a male given name from Hebrew in regular use since the Middle Ages.” Its etymology gives the sense “God is my judge” (literally).
From Middle English Daniel, Daniell, from Ancient Greek Δᾱνῑήλ (Dānīḗl), from Hebrew דָּנִיֵּאל (daniyél, literally “God is my judge”), name borne from the prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel.
/ˈdænjəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Daniel?
#22 among boys’ names, 2025
Daniel fell from #12 in 2015 to #22 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 7.1 to 4.7 per 1,000.
38,853 babies in 1985, the peak
Daniel peaked in 1985, when 38,853 babies were given it (38,559 boys, #5 among boys’ names). The 8,093 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 21% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8,085 | #22 | 4.7 |
| 2024 | 8,426 | #16 | 4.9 |
| 2023 | 8,402 | #17 | 4.9 |
| 2022 | 9,121 | #14 | 5.2 |
| 2021 | 9,162 | #16 | 5.2 |
| 2020 | 9,530 | #14 | 5.5 |
| 2019 | 10,592 | #15 | 5.9 |
| 2018 | 11,296 | #15 | 6.2 |
| 2017 | 11,758 | #15 | 6.4 |
| 2016 | 12,996 | #13 | 6.8 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13,543 | #12 | 7.1 |
| 2014 | 13,961 | #10 | 7.3 |
| 2013 | 14,326 | #10 | 7.6 |
| 2012 | 14,304 | #11 | 7.5 |
| 2011 | 15,307 | #10 | 8.1 |
| 2010 | 15,869 | #8 | 8.3 |
| 2009 | 17,564 | #7 | 8.9 |
| 2008 | 19,032 | #5 | 9.3 |
| 2007 | 20,268 | #5 | 9.8 |
| 2006 | 20,082 | #6 | 9.8 |
| 2005 | 20,236 | #7 | 10.1 |
| 2004 | 21,018 | #7 | 10.6 |
| 2003 | 21,072 | #8 | 10.7 |
| 2002 | 21,352 | #10 | 11.0 |
| 2001 | 21,013 | #9 | 10.8 |
| 2000 | 22,338 | #9 | 11.4 |
| 1999 | 22,704 | #9 | 11.8 |
| 1998 | 23,165 | #12 | 12.1 |
| 1997 | 23,950 | #11 | 12.7 |
| 1996 | 25,128 | #11 | 13.3 |
| 1995 | 26,728 | #9 | 14.0 |
| 1994 | 28,065 | #8 | 14.5 |
| 1993 | 28,698 | #7 | 14.6 |
| 1992 | 29,157 | #7 | 14.6 |
| 1991 | 30,935 | #6 | 15.3 |
| 1990 | 33,830 | #5 | 16.5 |
| 1989 | 35,007 | #6 | 17.5 |
| 1988 | 34,718 | #8 | 18.1 |
| 1987 | 35,876 | #7 | 19.2 |
| 1986 | 36,573 | #6 | 19.9 |
| 1985 | 38,559 | #5 | 20.9 |
| 1984 | 36,531 | #6 | 20.2 |
| 1983 | 34,748 | #8 | 19.4 |
| 1982 | 32,652 | #10 | 18.0 |
| 1981 | 30,985 | #10 | 17.3 |
| 1980 | 29,888 | #11 | 16.8 |
| 1979 | 28,521 | #12 | 16.6 |
| 1978 | 26,441 | #11 | 16.1 |
| 1977 | 26,073 | #11 | 15.9 |
| 1976 | 24,702 | #10 | 15.7 |
| 1975 | 23,814 | #11 | 15.3 |
| 1974 | 23,833 | #11 | 15.2 |
| 1973 | 23,672 | #11 | 15.2 |
| 1972 | 22,092 | #15 | 13.6 |
| 1971 | 21,785 | #20 | 12.3 |
| 1970 | 23,521 | #19 | 12.7 |
| 1969 | 23,165 | #18 | 13.0 |
| 1968 | 22,012 | #18 | 12.7 |
| 1967 | 22,192 | #19 | 12.7 |
| 1966 | 23,269 | #19 | 13.0 |
| 1965 | 24,833 | #17 | 13.4 |
| 1964 | 24,342 | #19 | 12.2 |
| 1963 | 24,815 | #19 | 12.2 |
| 1962 | 25,543 | #17 | 12.3 |
| 1961 | 25,904 | #17 | 12.2 |
| 1960 | 25,945 | #17 | 12.2 |
| 1959 | 25,155 | #18 | 11.8 |
| 1958 | 25,619 | #16 | 12.1 |
| 1957 | 27,337 | #16 | 12.7 |
| 1956 | 26,655 | #18 | 12.6 |
| 1955 | 26,460 | #17 | 12.8 |
| 1954 | 25,275 | #18 | 12.4 |
| 1953 | 23,498 | #20 | 11.9 |
| 1952 | 23,418 | #20 | 12.0 |
| 1951 | 21,121 | #21 | 11.2 |
| 1950 | 19,189 | #21 | 10.7 |
| 1949 | 18,240 | #22 | 10.3 |
| 1948 | 16,510 | #22 | 9.4 |
| 1947 | 15,189 | #22 | 8.3 |
| 1946 | 12,867 | #21 | 7.9 |
| 1945 | 9,708 | #24 | 7.2 |
| 1944 | 9,314 | #25 | 6.8 |
| 1943 | 9,168 | #25 | 6.4 |
| 1942 | 8,507 | #28 | 6.2 |
| 1941 | 7,050 | #31 | 5.7 |
| 1940 | 6,225 | #34 | 5.4 |
| 1939 | 5,797 | #38 | 5.2 |
| 1938 | 5,583 | #39 | 5.0 |
| 1937 | 5,124 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1936 | 4,817 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1935 | 4,591 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1934 | 4,502 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1933 | 4,310 | #42 | 4.3 |
| 1932 | 4,449 | #42 | 4.3 |
| 1931 | 4,360 | #44 | 4.2 |
| 1930 | 4,465 | #47 | 4.1 |
| 1929 | 4,366 | #47 | 4.1 |
| 1928 | 4,426 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1927 | 4,615 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1926 | 4,516 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1925 | 4,548 | #44 | 4.1 |
| 1924 | 4,403 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1923 | 4,264 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1922 | 4,285 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1921 | 4,087 | #49 | 3.7 |
| 1920 | 3,897 | #52 | 3.7 |
| 1919 | 3,526 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1918 | 3,726 | #52 | 3.7 |
| 1917 | 3,360 | #54 | 3.6 |
| 1916 | 3,149 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1915 | 3,002 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1914 | 2,325 | #55 | 3.6 |
| 1913 | 1,878 | #54 | 3.7 |
| 1912 | 1,524 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1911 | 796 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1910 | 692 | #53 | 3.6 |
| 1909 | 569 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1908 | 530 | #54 | 3.4 |
| 1907 | 528 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1906 | 506 | #48 | 3.8 |
| 1905 | 484 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1904 | 472 | #49 | 3.7 |
| 1903 | 432 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1902 | 501 | #45 | 4.1 |
| 1901 | 416 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1900 | 598 | #44 | 4.0 |
| 1899 | 485 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 1898 | 523 | #45 | 4.3 |
| 1897 | 520 | #39 | 4.6 |
| 1896 | 561 | #38 | 4.7 |
| 1895 | 516 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 1894 | 515 | #41 | 4.4 |
| 1893 | 522 | #39 | 4.6 |
| 1892 | 533 | #41 | 4.4 |
| 1891 | 505 | #37 | 5.0 |
| 1890 | 505 | #39 | 4.5 |
| 1889 | 515 | #36 | 4.7 |
| 1888 | 566 | #35 | 4.7 |
| 1887 | 556 | #31 | 5.5 |
| 1886 | 555 | #33 | 5.0 |
| 1885 | 535 | #32 | 5.0 |
| 1884 | 573 | #32 | 5.0 |
| 1883 | 615 | #25 | 5.9 |
| 1882 | 594 | #29 | 5.2 |
| 1881 | 527 | #29 | 5.2 |
| 1880 | 643 | #25 | 5.8 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Daniel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Daniel has been given almost only to boys: 8,279 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Daniel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Daniel, and how old are they?
1.62 million alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 1,991,091 Americans ever recorded as Daniel. The median Daniel alive today is 41 years old; half are between 27 and 57.
The 2020 Census counted 1,607,193 people named Daniel (5,568 women and girls, 1,601,625 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,642,324 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 25,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 293,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 347,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 495,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 314,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 140,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Daniel born?
The states with the most babies named Daniel are California, New York and Texas, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 264,143 | #18 | 1.2× |
| New York | 180,322 | #18 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 133,259 | #17 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 114,184 | #21 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 112,343 | #22 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 92,146 | #51 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 82,166 | #30 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 71,679 | #24 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 67,124 | #17 | 1.2× |
| Massachusetts | 64,365 | #27 | 1.3× |
Where Daniel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Daniel is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Daniel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 2,008,046 babies since 1880, Daniel is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8,093 of their 8,180 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Daniel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Daniel and names like it
- Compare Daniel and DanialBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sDaniel peaked in 1985.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Daniel since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Daniel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1985The year the most babies were named Daniel.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Daniel alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with DMost given first.