Name of the Week

 

 
Friendly and reliable Daniel has been a stalwart
international favourite for centuries.

 

Origin:

From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel), composed of the elements דָּן (dan) "a judge" — related to דִּין (din) "to judge, defend, plead" — and אֵל (el) "God." Many, therefore, define it as either "God is my judge" or "God has judged."  Several figures in the Old Testament bear the name: a son of David; a priest; a great sage; and the prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel.

Usage:

As the name of a biblical prophet, Daniel can be found in use across medieval Europe. Early British examples include Daniel of Winchester (d.745), Bishop of the West Saxons and Bishop of Winchester, and Daniel, Bishop of Cornwall (fl.937-955). Instances of Daniel or Daniels as a surname also date from the 11th century. At this time, however, the name was not particularly common. There is, for example, only one Daniel is listed in the extensive 1292 Subsidy Roll of London, and none at all in the Subsidy of 1319. A handful of Biblical names came to the fore in the 16th and 17th centuries, however, and Daniel was one of the first to make an impact. Smith-Bannister's frequency tables rank Daniel as the 35th most popular name from 1538-1549. It was #21 by 1610-1619 and #15 in 1690-1700. The increased levels of immigration from Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries most likely played a contributing factor to this higher usage in Britain. For example, we know that in 1565 a German by the name of Daniel Houghsetter was given licence to open mines in Cumberland, Westmorland and Cornwall*.  The 1841 UK census records 57,483 males named Daniel (72% living in England, 15% in Scotland, 12% in Wales). The number had risen to 67,326 in 1861; 73,501 in 1881; and 72,603 in 1900 (61% in England, 22% in Scotland, 17% in Wales).  It ranked #40 (1201 births) in 1890 and #53 (1131 births) in 1900.  In the 20th century, Daniel was never out of the Top 100 in England and Wales. Starting at #57 in 1904, it fell to #82 by 1944 but the steadily began rising again, to #16 in 1974 and #4 in both 1984 and 1994. It reached a peak, at #2 (10,338 births) in 1996 and has ever so gradually declined over the preceeding decade: #4 from 1997-98, #5 from 1999-2004, #6 from 2005-07, #8 in 2008, #10 in 2009, #11 in 2010 and #14 in 2011 with 3,928 births.  In Scotland, Daniel has ranked highly throughout the 20th century: #21 in 1900; #33 in 1950; #51 in 1975; and #13 in 2001. In 2011 it ranked #6 with 362 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * St Daniel the Stylite (c. 409–493), a saint of the Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. * Daniel I of Galicia (c.1202–1264), King of Galicia. * Sultan Daniyal Mirza (1572–c.1602), son of Emperor Akbar the Great and Viceroy of Deccan. * Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), English author. * Daniel Purcell (c. 1664–1717), an English composer. * Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), Swiss mathematician.  * Daniel Boone (1734–1820), American pioneer, explorer and adventurer. Contemporary: * Daniel Craig (b.1968), British actor. * Daniel Radcliffe (b.1989), British actor. Literature and Other Media: * Daniel Deronda (1876), a novel by George Eliot. * Daniel, a song by Elton John. Other: * Daniel, a French rocket. * 2589 Daniel is a main-belt asteroid.

Variants:

Danilo (Spanish, Portuguese, Serbian), Daniele (Italian), Deiniol (Welsh)

Pronunciation:

DAN-yul  [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Dale, Dan, Danny, Danko, Neil

Sibling Names:

Hannah     Lucy     Sophie     Amy     Charlotte     Laura  Matthew     Thomas    Joshua     James     Benjamin     Jacob

Name Lists:

Popular Biblical Names   Gorgeously Georgian   Dickensian Names   Astronomical Names

 

If you like Daniel you may also like:   Gabriel, Samuel, Adam, Raphael, Michael, Elliott, Russel, Damian, Adrian, Nathaniel