How Many People Are Named Daniel?
An estimated 1,672,238 people in the United States have the first name Daniel, making it one of the 10 most popular first names in the country (ranked #9, behind Christopher). It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 43 years old, and Daniel peaked in popularity in 1985 with 38,858 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Richard (1,568,549).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Daniel as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Daniel paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Daniel is overwhelmingly male, 8,268 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
1,672,238
About 1 in 205 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
43
years old
Peak Year
1985
38,858 births
Total Registered
1,982,857
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Daniel
Daniel is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 1,982,857 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Daniel as a male name
Ranked #16 in 2024
8,391 male births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (38,564 births)
Daniel as a female name
Ranked #10,441 in 2024
9 female births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (294 births)
Daniel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Daniel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 348,088 babies were registered. Daniel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Daniel by Decade
How has Daniel tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,679 | 5,679 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 5,185 | 5,185 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 5,048 | 5,036 | 12 | |
| 1910s | 24,066 | 23,978 | 88 | |
| 1920s | 43,664 | 43,407 | 257 | |
| 1930s | 48,205 | 47,998 | 207 | |
| 1940s | 113,113 | 112,776 | 337 | |
| 1950s | 244,221 | 243,725 | 496 | |
| 1960s | 242,883 | 242,014 | 869 | |
| 1970s | 246,016 | 244,463 | 1,553 | |
| 1980s | 348,088 | 345,559 | 2,529 | |
| 1990s | 273,465 | 272,345 | 1,120 | |
| 2000s | 204,459 | 203,951 | 508 | |
| 2010s | 134,132 | 133,909 | 223 | |
| 2020s | 44,633 | 44,564 | 69 | |
Daniel by State
Birth registrations for Daniel span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska. On average, about 38,488 Daniels were registered per state.
Daniel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Daniel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Daniel
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Daniel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daniel?
We estimate approximately 1,672,238 people named Daniel are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 205 Americans share this first name.
Is Daniel a common name?
Daniel is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,982,857 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Daniel most popular?
Daniel reached peak popularity in 1985, when 38,858 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Daniel is approximately 43 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Daniel a male name?
Daniel is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Daniel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Daniel Smith, Daniel Johnson, Daniel Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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