Deniel
God is my judge, a Hebrew name meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 113 living Americans carry the first name Deniel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Deniel today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deniel births was 2008 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deniel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Deniel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
113
~ 1 in 3,033,224 Americans
Peak year
2008
10 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,108
Tracked since 1984
Census
Deniel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 339 people with the first name Deniel, which placed it at #27,134 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
#27,134
National first-name rank
People counted
339
339 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
38.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deniel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deniel is Hispanic at 38.1%. The next largest groups are White (31.6%) and Black (14.5%). 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 Deniel 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 Deniel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino38.1% · 129
- White31.6% · 107
- Black or African American14.5% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.3% · 35
- Two or more races4.4% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
Popularity
Deniel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deniel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 49 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deniel 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 Deniel 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 Deniel
The given name Deniel is believed to have originated from the ancient Aramaic language, which was widely spoken in the Middle East during the 6th century BCE to the 7th century CE. It is thought to be a variant of the biblical name Daniel, which means "God is my judge" or "God has judged me" in Hebrew.
The earliest recorded use of the name Deniel can be traced back to the 5th century CE, where it appeared in various Aramaic texts and inscriptions found in the regions of modern-day Syria and Iraq. It is possible that the name was introduced during the Babylonian captivity of the Israelites, as the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible features the story of the prophet Daniel, who lived in Babylon during the 6th century BCE.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Deniel was Deniel of Tabriz, a renowned Persian poet and mystic who lived in the 13th century CE. His poetry and writings were deeply influenced by Sufism and played a significant role in the development of Persian literature.
In the 14th century, Deniel Cervera, a Spanish philosopher and theologian, made significant contributions to the fields of metaphysics and natural philosophy. His works were widely studied and influenced the intellectual discourse of his time.
Another notable figure was Deniel Defoe, the English writer and journalist who lived from 1660 to 1731 CE. He is best known for his novel "Robinson Crusoe," which is considered one of the earliest examples of the modern novel and has had a lasting impact on literature.
In the realm of art, Deniel Vázquez Díaz, a Spanish painter and printmaker, was a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in 1882, his works were characterized by their bold use of color and the fusion of cubist and expressionist styles.
Lastly, Deniel Brennan, an Irish actor and director, has made significant contributions to the world of theatre and film. Born in 1955, he has starred in numerous productions and has received critical acclaim for his performances on stage and screen.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Deniel throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Deniel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deniel 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
Deniel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deniel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 113 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deniel 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 3,033,224 US residents.
Is Deniel a common name?
We classify Deniel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deniel most popular?
The single biggest year for Deniel was 2008, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deniel is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deniel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 339 people with the name Deniel, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,134 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 Deniel 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 Deniel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Deniel on both sides of the split. Of the 337 people counted with this name, 261 were male (77.4%) and 76 were female (22.6%). 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 Deniel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deniel is Hispanic at 38.1%. The next largest groups are White (31.6%) and Black (14.5%). 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 Deniel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Deniel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.1% (129 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 Deniel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deniel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deniel 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 Deniel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deniel 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 Deniel 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 Americans are named Deniel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Deniel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.