2000
#380
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 75,135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 27.85
Uncommon Last name
Daniel
A biblical surname derived from the Hebrew name meaning "God is my judge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 89,586 Americans carry the last name Daniel. That puts it at #407 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,826 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Daniel surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Daniel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
90K
1 in 3,826
Census rank
#407
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
78K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 78,123 bearers of the surname Daniel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 407th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Daniel, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Hispanic (6.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Daniel
The surname Daniel is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Daniel, which means "God is my judge" in Hebrew. The name Daniel has been in use for thousands of years, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 6th century BC.
The surname Daniel is believed to have originated in ancient Israel, where it was initially borne by members of the Hebrew tribe of Judah. As the Jewish diaspora spread throughout the Mediterranean region and Europe in the centuries that followed, the name Daniel was carried along with them, eventually becoming a common surname in various parts of the world.
In medieval times, the surname Daniel was particularly prevalent in Germany, France, and England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists several individuals with the surname Daniel or similar spellings, such as Daniiel and Danihel.
Throughout history, there have been many notable individuals who bore the surname Daniel. One of the earliest was Samuel Daniel, an English poet and historian who lived from 1562 to 1619. Another notable figure was John Daniel, a British naval officer and explorer who was born in 1646 and served as the governor of the British East India Company's settlement in Bombay (now Mumbai) from 1681 to 1689.
In the 19th century, John Frederick Daniel (1815-1884) was a prominent British geologist and mineralogist, while John Reginald Daniel (1888-1967) was a British archaeologist and historian who made significant contributions to the study of ancient civilizations in South Asia.
Moving into the 20th century, Arnaud Daniel (1913-1988) was a French novelist and essayist who won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1970 for his novel L'Été anglais. Another notable figure was Yusuf Daniel (1914-1994), an Indian playwright, actor, and director who was a pioneer of modern Urdu theatre.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Daniel, which has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture and has been carried across continents and centuries, becoming a prominent surname in various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daniel
Among Census respondents with the surname Daniel, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Hispanic (6.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Daniel bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Daniel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.2% · 45,506
- Black or African American26.6% · 20,778
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 5,030
- Two or more races4.1% · 3,217
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 3,097
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 495
Timeline
Historical Census data for Daniel
Daniel appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 80,526
+5,391 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 27.30
Rank movement Down 16 places
2020
#407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 78,123
-2,403 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 26.14
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #380 | 75,135 | 27.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #396 | 80,526 | 27.30 | +5,391 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 16 places |
| 2020 | #407 | 78,123 | 26.14 | -2,403 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 11 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Daniel surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #396 | #407 | -2.8% |
| Count | 80,526 | 78,123 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 27.30 | 26.14 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Daniel bearers went from 80,526 to 78,123 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #396 to #407.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Daniel
FAQ
Daniel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Daniel?
Name Census estimates that about 89,586 living Americans carry the surname Daniel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,826 residents.
How common is Daniel?
Daniel ranks #407 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 26 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 78,123 people with the surname Daniel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (89,586), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 26 of them to have the surname Daniel.
Has Daniel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Daniel went from 80,526 recorded bearers to 78,123. That is a decrease of 2,403 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #396 to #407.
What does the Census say about the background of Daniel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Daniel, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Hispanic (6.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Daniel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.2% (45,506 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Daniel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.2%), Black (26.6%), Hispanic (6.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Daniel (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Daniel mean?
A biblical surname derived from the Hebrew name meaning "God is my judge." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Daniel (26.14 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Daniel?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Daniel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.