proper name, Hebrew, literally "God is my judge;" related to Dan, literally "he who judges," the name given to the tribe descended from Jacob's son of that name in the Old Testament. Consistently in the top 15 names for boys born in the U.S. from 1972 through 2008.
Entries linking to daniel
Dan 1
familiar form of masc. proper name Daniel.
Danielle
fem. proper name, from Daniel. In U.S., little used before c. 1940 and in the top 20 for girls born from 1984-1994.
Danny
familiar form of proper name Daniel. The words to the popular song "Danny Boy" were written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly in 1910 and altered in 1913 to fit the old Irish tune of "Londonderry Air."