Daniel - Meaning of Daniel |
What does Daniel mean?
[ 2 syll. da-niel, dan-i-el ] The baby boy name Daniel is pronounced as DAENYahL in English, DaeNYEHL in French, DAANiyehL in German, DaaNiyEHL in Hebrew, or DAANYehL in Polish †. Daniel is an Armenian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Scandinavian, and Spanish name of Hebrew origin. The name is of the meaning God is my judge, God has judged. A biblical name, it is derived from the elements 'dan' meaning judge ; 'el' God, powerful. Daniyel (Hebrew) is an older form of Daniel. In the Bible, the name was borne by the prophet who rose to prominence for his skills in interpreting dreams. His experiences were recorded in the Book of Daniel of the Old Testament, including his famous escape from the lions' den. The name was first adopted by ecclesiastical English speakers prior to the Norman Conquest, before gaining ground among the wider population by the Middle Ages. It dropped from favor after the 15th century but was revived by the Reformation as it is a biblical name. The name has also been popular with both Jews and Gentiles. The Irish name Domhnall and the Welsh Deiniol are often Anglicized as Daniel. In literature, the name has appeared in Daniel Deronda (1876), a novel by George Eliot, and 'Danny, the Champion of the World' (1975), the children's book by Roald Dahl. The name Daniela (Czech, English, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Romanian) is the female equivalent of Daniel.
What are the Variant Forms of Daniel?
Daniel is a widely used name; it has 77 variants that are used in English and other languages. Variants used in English include Dainel, Dan'l, Danal, Daneal, Daneel, Danell, Danforth, Danie, Danielius, Daniell, Danielle, Danielson, Danilo (also used in Italian, Portuguese, Slavic, Spanish, and Ukrainian), Dannel, Danniel, Dannon, Dantrell, Danyal, Dasco, Day, Doniel, Tanielu, and Zaniel. Other English forms include the contraction Dan (also used in Romanian), the pet forms Danieo, Dann, Dannie, Danno, and Danny, and the variant spellings Danial and Danyel.Foreign variants of Daniel include Dacso (Hungarian), Dainial (Irish), Dana (Hebrew), Danail (Slavic), Dane (Dutch and Lithuanian), Daneil (Hungarian), Danel (Basque and Hebrew), Daniela (Russian), Daniele (Italian), Danielo (Italian), Daniels (Latvian), Daniël (Dutch), Daniil (Russian), Danijel (Slavic), Danil (Slavic), Danila (Russian), Danilka (Russian), Danko (Czech), Dano (Czech), Danukas (Lithuanian), Danylets (Russian), Danylo (Russian), Daoud (Arabic), Dàniel (Scottish), Dániel (Hungarian), Deinioel (Welsh), Deiniol (Welsh), Deniel (Breton), Donal (Irish), and Donois (French). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Daan (Dutch), Danek (Czech and Polish), Danes (Czech), Dani (Hungarian, Slovenian, and Spanish), Danick (Slavic), Daniilushka (Russian), Danousek (Czech), Dany (German), Danya (Russian), and Mikito (Russian).
See also the related forms, Dinah (English, Hebrew, and German), Jean Daniel, and Juandaniel.
Daniel is very popular as a baby name for boys. The name's popularity jumped from the 1900s up to the 1980s; before that, it was of occasional use only. At the height of its usage in 1985, 2.003% of baby boys were given the name Daniel. Its ranking then was #5. The baby name has since experienced a loss in popularity. In 2011, its usage was 0.752% and its ranking #10, but it was nonetheless the most popular within all boy names in its group. In 2011, Daniel was used 18 times more than the next ranked name, Danny. Daniel has predominantly been a baby boy name, though in the past century it has also been used for girls. In 1989, Daniel as a baby boy name outnumbered its use as a girl name by 176 times.
Baby names that sound like Daniel include Daniele, Danielle, Danyal, Danyel, Danyele, Danyell, Danyelle, Dainel, Damel, Damell, Damelle, Danail, Danal, Daneal, Daneil, Danel, Danell, Daniell, Danielo, and Daniël.
† Pronunciation for Daniel: D as in "day (D.EY)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; Y as in "you (Y.UW)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)"
Details of famous persons named Daniel:
Actor Daniel Craig, born 2 March 1968, Chester, England.
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis, born 29 April 1957, London, England.
Actor Daniel Radcliffe, born 23 July 1989, London, England.
Author Daniel Defoe, born Daniel Foe, 24 April 1731.
Author Daniel Handler, born 1970, San Francisco, California.
Cartoonist Daniel Clowes, born 14 April 1961, Chicago, Illinois.
Clergyman Daniel Berrigan, born 9 May 1921, Virginia, Minnesota.
Explorer Daniel Boone, born 2 November 1734 - 26 September 1820, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Politician Daniel Ortega, born José Daniel Ortega Saavedra, 11 November 1945, La Libertad, Nicaragua.
