How common is the name Daniel?

1,607,193 people in the United States have the first name Daniel, about 1 in 188. It ranks #9 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

DANIEL

#9

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
1,607,193
About
1 in 188
This common or more
7.4%
Who bears it

Of the 1,607,193 people named Daniel, 67.1% reported their origin as White, 22.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 4.2% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Daniel peaked in 1985, when 38,853 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1985
Births that year
38,853
In 2025*
8,093 ▼79%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 1,991,091 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Daniel by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #6. The largest share of babies named Daniel, 26.2%, were born between 1981 and 1996, as millennials.

1880s#935,679
1890s#1405,185
1900s#1745,048
1910s#12524,066
1920s#10843,664
1930s#8648,205
1940s#47113,115
1950s#31244,223
1960s#24242,889
1970s#16246,007
1980s#11348,066
1990s#10273,481
2000s#6204,483
2010s#18134,175
2020s#2452,805
Before 19010.6%
Greatest Generation 1901–273.2%
Silent Generation 1928–455.4%
Baby boom 1946–6421.8%
Generation X 1965–8019.7%
Millennials 1981–9626.2%
Generation Z 1997–1216.1%
2013 and later7.1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Daniel is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Daniel has been most common in Alaska (1.5×), California (1.3×), and Massachusetts (1.3×), and least common in Mississippi (0.46×).

1,971,095 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Daniel

#7 Mary · 1,768,343#8 Maria · 1,652,966#10 Joseph · 1,600,667#11 Richard · 1,575,998

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Daniel, most common first.

#667 Daniela · 78,946#2,984 Danial · 7,521#3,563 Daniele · 5,783#6,099 Danyel · 2,671#6,845 Daniell · 2,295#8,822 Daniil · 1,620#9,388 Danniel · 1,482#11,837 Danel · 1,068

Also a last name

As a last name, Daniel ranks #407 of 156,621, with 78,123 people. See Daniel as a last name

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