Dan
Masculine · “he judged”
Dan is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 106,554 boys against 576 girls since 1880. See Dan as a girl name
Dan is a judge. It is one of the twelve tribes of Israel and a complete name in Hebrew, and it is also the short form of Daniel — the same word with God's name attached.
How old is the name Dan?
Dan was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Dan alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 61,000 people named Dan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dan most popular?
Dan peaked in 1881, reaching #86 nationally. Today it ranks #1959, 1,873 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Dan appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From din to Dan
The story of Dan
Daniel is the prophet of the book named for him, thrown into a lion pit and interpreting dreams for Babylonian kings, and the name reached English through the Bible. Dan served as its clipping for centuries and is also independently a biblical name. American families registered Dan outright from the 1930s, and it peaked in the mid-1950s alongside Daniel itself.
Meaning
he judged
From the Hebrew din, 'to judge'. Dan is one of Jacob's sons and the ancestor of a tribe; Genesis explains his name with a play on the verb. Daniel is the same root plus el, 'God' — 'God is my judge'. So Dan is both a complete Hebrew name and a clipping of a longer one.
How the name formed
- din
- Dan
- Daniel
Related forms: Dan · Dan · Daniel · Daniil
Pronouncing Dan
DAN
One syllable. Said identically in English, Hebrew and Romanian.
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19603,696 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #86reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −11.4%78 in 2025, from 88
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
- Dan in Romanian — same name
- Daniel in Spanish — related form
- Daniil in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Dans among us
people named Dan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 21,898 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
Where Dan is headed
Dan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Dan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is a complete name in Hebrew as well as a clipping, which very few English short forms manage.
- Daniel stands behind it with three thousand years of documented use.
- Three letters, one syllable, and never misheard in any language.
- Given outright it stays informal; Daniel on the certificate keeps both registers.
- It is closely associated with the middle of the twentieth century in American use.
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What they receive
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Dan
Masculine · #1959 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 61,000 people named Dan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dan in 2025?
- Dan ranks #1959 among US boy names in 2025, with 78 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dan?
- About 1 in every 21,898 US boys born in 2025 was named Dan — 78 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.
Xayden#1959 · Greysen#1959 · Giovanny#1959 · Cyaire#1959 · Lior#1959 · Jaxtyn#1959 · Cross#1959 · Usher#1959
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.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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