Danell
Feminine · “He judged”
Danell is given to both — 1,266 girls and 434 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Danell is short, symmetrical and given to children of both sexes, and the name at its front belonged to a whole tribe that vanished. The tribe of Dan is in the early lists and then simply stops appearing, and people have been looking for it in unlikely places ever since.
How old is the name Danell?
Danell first appears in US birth records in 1941 — 84 years ago. The typical Danell alive today was born around 1972, making them about 53 years old. About 1,200 people named Danell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Danell most popular?
Danell peaked in 1968, reaching #1728 nationally. See the whole 1968 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Dan to Danell
The story of Danell
The tribe of Dan is allotted territory, fails to hold it, migrates north, and after the Assyrian conquest disappears from the record entirely. So do nine others, and the phrase for what happened to them has been in the language for centuries. From the Middle Ages onward, travelers and enthusiasts have identified the lost tribes with the Ethiopians, the Japanese, the Irish, the Pashtuns, the Native Americans and the British, on evidence ranging from thin to nonexistent, and the search has never entirely stopped. One community, the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, was formally recognized as descended from Dan by an Israeli rabbinical authority in the twentieth century, which is as close to a resolution as any of it has come.
Meaning
He judged
The Hebrew is a verb rather than a noun: he judged, or he has vindicated. It stands at the front of Daniel, where it is followed by the word for God, and it stood alone as the name of one of the twelve tribes. The ending here is French in shape and American in use, and it contributes nothing to the meaning.
How the name formed
- Dan
- Daniel
- Danell
Related forms: Danielle · Daniella
Pronouncing Danell
duh-NELL
Two syllables with the stress at the back, which is the French pattern the ending brings with it. Some families say DAN-ell instead, and the spelling does not choose.
Nicknames for Danell
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
- 1941
- Most girls named
- 197754 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1728reached in 1968
- Change vs 2005
- 0.0%6 in 2013, from 6
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.
Danell in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Danielle in French — related form
- Daniella in Hebrew — related form
Danells among us
people named Danell are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Danell sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, clean and easy to spell, with two very different short forms available.
- It works for a child of either sex, and the record confirms it has been used both ways.
- Final stress gives the name a definite finish and makes it carry across a room.
- The record holds this spelling for boys and girls both, so it signals nothing on a form.
- Danelle, Danell and Danielle are all in use, so spelling it out never quite stops.
- Two stress patterns are current and the first person to say it aloud fixes it for everyone.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Danell 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 Danell? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Danell
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Danells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Danell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Danell in 2025?
- Danell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Danell with classmates?
- Danell will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
Dorothy#421 · Donna#1962 · Deborah#862 · Debra#4460 · Diane#2607 · Doris#2895 · Denise#1673 · Danielle#549
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Danell? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Danell 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