Dan
Dan is a name in various cultures. As a given name it is often short for Daniel. It is also a surname with multiple origins.
- Biblical
- Biblical Hebrew
- Hebrew
- English
Meaning & Origin of Dan
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Dan is a name in various cultures. As a given name it is often short for Daniel. It is also a surname with multiple origins.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Biblical
- Biblical Hebrew
- Hebrew
- English
- Spanish
- French
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Czech
- German
- Swedish
- Danish
- Norwegian
- Japanese
- Chinese
The Story of Dan
Dan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 140 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1960: 3,697 births, good for #111 nationwide. About 24% of every Dan on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Dan ranks #1,835 for baby boys with 89 births, holding steady (-3%). All told, over 107K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Dan
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Dan. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Dan
Phonetically similar names — useful when Dan is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dan
What does the name Dan mean?
What is the origin of the name Dan?
How popular is Dan in 2026?
When was Dan most popular?
In which U.S. states is Dan most popular?
Is Dan a unisex name?
What names go well with Dan?
What are nicknames or variants of Dan?
About the name Dan
Dan is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 107K births in the dataset. Dan's peak popularity came in 1960 when it ranked #86. Use the chart and map above to compare Dan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1960 →
- Names of the 1960s →
- Names starting with "D" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.