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The name Daniel comes from two Hebrew words: El, the abbreviated form of Elohim, meaning God; and Din, a verb meaning judge or rule. While this combination has been interpreted in a number of ways ("God rules," "God judges"), the possessive form of the verb Din means that "God is my judge" is the most accurate interpretation.

The first Biblical mention of this name refers to a son of king David, but the famous Daniel is the author of the Book of Daniel. In 586 BC, the Babylonian Empire conquered the Kingdom of Judah. According to the Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took some of the residents of Judah for his personal service: these were especially wise and intelligent members of Judah's nobility, who were to be educated in Babylon and integrated into the king's household. Unfortunately for Nebuchadnezzar, one of these captives was Daniel, who would cause a great deal of trouble for his captors over the course of his Babylonian vacation, mainly by interpreting apocalyptic dreams and visions.

The name Daniel is very significant to the content of the book. The main theme of this book is rebellion: Daniel rebels against his captors from day one by refusing to eat non-kosher food, and Daniel's captors rebel against God by worshipping kings. Inasmuch as no one but God is qualified to judge Daniel, he is able to successfully rebel against the Babylonian royalty by retaining his faith. His most remarkable act of rebellion is his refusal to be eaten by lions when his captors attempt to punish him for his beliefs.

Daniel has been one of the 1,000 most popular names in the United States since 1880, and one of the 10 most popular since 1980. Between 1997 and 2007, it increased in popularity, moving from 10th to 6th place. Daniel is also one of the 10 most popular names in Austria, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. A variation, Daan, is the most popular name in the Netherlands.

Famous Daniels include the author of Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe, 1661-1731), a legendary frontiersman (Daniel Boone, 1735-1820), a prominent American statesman (Daniel Webster, 1782-1852), a famous Democratic Senator (Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 1927-2003), the actor who played Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, b. 1989), and the actor who portrayed the Penguin in Batman Returns (Danny DeVito, b. 1944)

Daniel is also a hit song by Elton John, a popular restaurant on New York's Upper East Side, the name of towns in Utah and Wyoming, a French experimental rocket, and the inspiration for an Irish anthem (Danny Boy). Danny Boy was also a co-founder of the Irish-American rap group House of Pain, which provided the soundtrack to 3 minutes of every dorm party in the United States between 1992 and 1996.

International variations of Daniel include Dan, Daan, Danal, Dane, Daneal, Danek, Danell, Dani, Danial, Taneli, Daniele, Danil, Daniil, Danilo, Danko, Dannel, Dannie, Danny, Dantrell, Danyal, Danyel and Deiniol.

Daniel is a name that rhymes with almost nothing, and therefore comes with a limited supply of nickname options. The most common are simply Dan or Danny.

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