Dan
Feminine · “Hebrew din”
Dan is given to boys far more often — 106,554 boys against 576 girls since 1880. See Dan as a boy name
From Dan to Beersheba means the whole country. Naming the two ends to mean everything between them is called a merism, and English does it too: from A to Z, lock stock and barrel, high and low, kith and kin. Dan is one end of a very old one.
How old is the name Dan?
Dan first appears in US birth records in 1906 — 119 years ago. The typical Dan alive today was born around 1950, making them about 75 years old. About 300 people named Dan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dan most popular?
Dan peaked in 1906, reaching #1951 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 7,506 places below that high. See the whole 1906 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From din to Dan
The story of Dan
A merism names the extremes of something to indicate the whole of it, and ancient Hebrew uses the device constantly. From Dan to Beersheba covers the land from its northernmost city to its southernmost. The heavens and the earth, in the first verse of Genesis, means everything. Good and evil, in the tree's name, is a merism for all knowledge rather than for a moral choice. Flesh and blood means a whole person. English inherited the habit through translation and has plenty of its own: from A to Z, lock stock and barrel, bag and baggage, part and parcel, high and low, near and far, body and soul, kith and kin. The device works because listing two poles is shorter than listing a category and more vivid, and because the extremes are usually the memorable part.
Meaningscholars disagree
Hebrew din, to judge
Dan is a Hebrew name and tribal name, explained in Genesis by a verb meaning to judge, in the usual biblical way of offering a pun rather than an etymology. The female entries in the American record are most likely short forms of Danna or Dana, or transcription, since the sex on a Social Security application is preserved permanently. The female peak is 1906.
How the name formed
- din
- Dan
Related forms: Dan · Danna
Pronouncing Dan
DAN
One syllable. Hebrew says the same. There is no ambiguity in the sound.
Nicknames for Dan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1906
- Most girls named
- 192818 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1951reached in 1906
- Change vs 2023
- +100.0%10 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dan in Hebrew — same name
- Danna in English — related form
Dans among us
people named Dan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Dan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Dan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Dan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and one syllable, as short as a name gets.
- The Hebrew name has a documented three-thousand-year history.
- There is no possible mispronunciation.
- It is read as a man's name essentially everywhere.
- Dana and Danielle are the established female forms.
- The biblical explanation is a pun, not an etymology.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dan to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Dan? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Dan
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Dan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dan in 2025?
- Dan ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dan?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Dan — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dan with classmates?
- Dan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle