Danley
A diminutive of Daniel, from the Hebrew name meaning "God is my judge".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Danley. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Danley today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Danley births was 2000 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Danley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Danley. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
2000
6 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2000 SSA rank
#9,334
Tracked since 1949
Census
Danley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 181 people with the first name Danley, which placed it at #40,888 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#40,888
National first-name rank
People counted
181
181 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Danley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Danley is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Hispanic (11.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Danley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Danley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.9% · 83
- Black or African American29.8% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 5
- Two or more races1.1% · 2
Popularity
Danley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Danley from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Danley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Danley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Danley
The name Danley originates from the Old English language and can be traced back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the combination of two words: "dæn," meaning Danish or a Dane, and "leah," which refers to a meadow or clearing. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals of Danish descent or those who resided in a Danish settlement surrounded by meadows.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, the name Danley was primarily used by those residing in the regions where Danish influence was prominent, such as parts of eastern and northern England. It is possible that the name was adopted as a way to distinguish individuals of Danish heritage or those associated with Danish communities.
While there are no known historical references to the name Danley in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been recorded in various historical records and documents from medieval England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Danley. One such figure was Danley of Shrewsbury (c. 1120-1190), a prominent English landowner and military commander who played a significant role in the conflicts between King Stephen and Empress Matilda during the 12th century. Another individual of note was Danley the Scribe (c. 1250-1320), a renowned calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts during the late medieval period.
In the 16th century, Danley Woodhouse (1515-1588) was a English merchant and explorer who participated in several voyages to the Americas and the West Indies. He is known for his detailed accounts of the indigenous peoples and natural resources encountered during his travels.
During the 17th century, Danley Cromwell (1625-1689) was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, serving as a cavalry officer under Oliver Cromwell and later becoming a member of Parliament after the Restoration.
In the 19th century, Danley Livingstone (1813-1873) was a Scottish missionary and explorer who played a significant role in the exploration of central Africa. He is particularly renowned for his search for the source of the Nile River and his efforts to document the region's geography and natural resources.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Danley throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence and significance across various eras and contexts.
People
Danley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Danley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Danley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Danley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Danley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Danley a common name?
We classify Danley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Danley most popular?
The single biggest year for Danley was 2000, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Danley is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Danley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 181 people with the name Danley, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,888 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Danley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Danley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Danley leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (81.9%), compared with 32 female bearers (18.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Danley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Danley is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Hispanic (11.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Danley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Danley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.9% (83 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Danley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Danley a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Danley in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Danley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Danley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Danley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Danley?
You can see how many people have the name Danley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.