Dan

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 21 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Dan is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Portuguese surname307K records spelled Dan130 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Argentina, United States, Uruguay

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian

  Also written Da, Dá, Da', D'A, Dä

• a separate given name171K records spelled Dan10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, China, United Kingdom

  Also written Dān, Dà̂n, Dã̂n, ̧dan, Dán

• Hindi given name96K records spelled Dan37 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Bangla

  Also written Danu, Dane, Dunne, দান, Daan

• French given name93K records spelled Dan24 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Dân, Dan', D'An, Dãn, Däň

• Czech given name63K records spelled Dan122 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, United States, Russia, Poland

  Languages: Czech, Russian, Polish

  Also written Ден, Дунь, Данг, Дун, Dunn

• a separate given name41K records spelled Dan37 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Spain, United Kingdom, Norway

  Also written Dân, Dãn, Dān, Däñ, Dän

103 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Dan is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• A male name of Hebrew origin meaning 'judgment' or 'he judged'. It is often used as a standalone name or as a diminutive for Daniel.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Dan represents judgment and vindication in the genesis narrative. However, in prophetic and apocalyptic literature, the Tribe of Dan is often associated with apostasy; notably, it is the only tribe omitted from the sealing of the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation (7:4-8).

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In German, from Slavic *dan 'given'; also from short forms of Daniel and related names

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In modern use this is taken as a short form of Daniel, but it is also an independent biblical name, meaning ‘he judged’ in Hebrew, borne by one of Jacob’s twelve sons (Genesis 30:6). Pet form: Danny.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A title of honour or respect similar to "master" or "Sir", used of historical and legendary figures of the past.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Dan Duryeab. 1907USAmerican actor (1907–1968)
• Dan Hedayab. 1940USAmerican actor (born 1940)
• Dan O'Bannonb. 1946USAmerican film director, screenwriter, actor (1946-2009)
• Dan Quayleb. 1947USvice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993
• Dan Laustsenb. 1954DKDanish cinematographer
• Dan Gilroyb. 1959USAmerican screenwriter
• Dan Marinob. 1961USAmerican football player, quarterback, Pro Football Hall of Fame member
• Dan Foglerb. 1976USAmerican actor, musician and filmmaker
• Dan Balanb. 1979MDMoldovan singer
• Lin Danb. 1983CNChinese badminton player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,268 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Dan?

We estimate roughly 176 thousand people bear Dan (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Dan have the most bearers?

We estimate about 124 thousand people bear Dan in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled dan.

Where is Dan most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Dan is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 455 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Dan compared with other names?

In the United States, Dan is the 226th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Dan a male or female name?

Dan is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Dan mean?

Recorded meaning: Derived from the Hebrew root 'din' (דִּין), meaning 'to judge' or 'judgment'.