Dan
Dan was the 1962nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 78 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 86th; the most babies were born in 1960 (3,696). Over the last ten years it has moved down 256 places. More babies were named Dan in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning he judged; or short for Daniel · Hebrew, English
Say it DAN /dæn/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,962 boys, down 193 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 78boys
- Girls and boys
- 5% girls, 95% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19603,696 babies
- Total since 1880
- 107,130babies recorded
What does the name Dan mean?
Dan is both a biblical name and a short form of Daniel, as Wiktionary notes. Dan is one of the sons of Jacob; in Genesis 30:6 Rachel names him saying God has 'judged' (dan) her case. Daniel means 'God is my judge', as DMNES glosses it, and is the name of the prophet of the Book of Daniel. A separate Scandinavian name Dan comes from the word for a Dane.
דָּן (Dan) (Biblical Hebrew, “he judged”)דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) (Biblical Hebrew, “God is my judge”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Daniel, Danny, Dane.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Dan', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 30:6 (Sefaria, with JPS translation), Sefaria
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Daniel', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Dan
The usual nicknames for Dan are Danny. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Dan in the last five years, 547 were named Danny, against 725 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny · also for Daniel | Traditional | #628 | 2,331 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Dans go by each one.
Dan popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,603 | #1,962 | 10 | 78 |
| 2020 | #12,454 | #1,769 | 7 | 86 |
| 2010 | — | #1,428 | — | 116 |
| 2000 | — | #933 | — | 163 |
| 1990 | — | #658 | — | 234 |
| 1980 | #8,350 | #461 | 7 | 335 |
| 1970 | #5,928 | #232 | 8 | 1,021 |
| 1960 | — | #111 | — | 3,696 |
| 1950 | #3,474 | #129 | 10 | 2,085 |
| 1940 | #3,958 | #155 | 6 | 1,097 |
| 1930 | #3,113 | #165 | 9 | 899 |
| 1920 | #4,052 | #185 | 7 | 764 |
| 1910 | — | #164 | — | 188 |
| 1900 | — | #121 | — | 192 |
| 1890 | — | #104 | — | 160 |
| 1880 | — | #98 | — | 140 |
How popular is Dan, counting every spelling?
Dan has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Dan?
78 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Dan (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Dan born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 108 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Dan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Dan?
About 57,100 people born in the US named Dan are alive today, with a median age of 66; half are between 58 and 73. That makes Dan a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Dan by state
How common Dan was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New York (1.5×). In 41 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Dan: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Dan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Dan · Sibling names for Dan
Dan is also a nickname for Daniel.
Questions about the name Dan
What does Dan mean?
Dan means “he judged; or short for Daniel” (Hebrew, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Dan?
Dan was the 1962nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 78 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 86th; the most babies were born in 1960 (3,696). Over the last ten years it has moved down 256 places. More babies were named Dan in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Dan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 5% girls, 95% boys given the name Dan in the US.
Where is Dan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Dan was most common in New York (0.07 per 1,000 boys), followed by California and Florida.