How popular is the baby name Daniel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Daniel and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Daniel.

The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the Baby Name Daniel

Number of Babies Named Daniel

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Daniel

Popular Baby Names in Bulgaria, 2017

According to Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute, the most popular baby names in the country in 2017 were Viktoria and Aleksandar.

Here are Bulgaria’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Viktoria, 741 baby girls
2. Maria, 718
3. Nikol, 682
4. Raia, 508
5. Aleksandra, 483
6. Sofia, 463
7. Daria, 447
8. Simona, 391
9. Gabriela, 380
10. Yoana, 378

Boy Names
1. Aleksandar, 1,116 baby boys
2. Georgi, 1,009
3. Martin, 804
4. Dimitar, 687
5. Ivan, 668
6. Nikola, 640
7. Daniel, 623
8. Boris, 615
9. Kaloyan, 599
10. Viktor, 562

The girls’ top 10 includes the same 10 names as the year before, but in a different order.

In the boys’ top 10, Boris replaces Nikolay.

The top two names were the same in 2016.

Sources: Names in Bulgaria in 2017 (preliminary data), Names in Bulgaria in 2017 (PDF)

Top First Letters of U.S. Baby Names, 2017

What were the most popular first letters for baby names in 2017?

For girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by M and E. The least-used first letter was U. Here’s the breakdown:

first letters, girl names, 2017

And here are the most-used girl names per letter for 2017:

For boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and C. The least-used letter was U. Here’s the breakdown:

first letters, boy names, 2017

Here are the most-used boy names per letter for 2017:

Finally, here are both genders side-by-side on the same chart:

first letters, baby names, 2017

Overall, the top first letter was A and the least popular letter was U. Not much has changed since 2016…

Biggest Changes, Baby Boy Names, 2017

Which boy names increased the most in popularity from 2016 to 2017? And which ones decreased the most?

There are a few different ways to answer this question. The SSA, for instance, likes to look at ranking differences within the top 1,000. And I like to augment their list by looking at raw number differences across all the data.

So let’s look at increases first…

Boy Names: Biggest Increases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Wells, +504 spots
2. Kairo, +423
3. Caspian, +328
4. Nova, +323
5. Colson, +323
6. Kace, +315
7. Kashton, +302
8. Koa, +294
9. Gatlin, +282
10. Bjorn, +276

Wells was influenced by Wells Adams, a contestant from The Bachelorette. Nova may have been influenced by “all those Villanova Wildcats basketball fans naming their sons in celebration of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions.”

Raw Numbers

1. Logan, +2,748 babies
2. Maverick, +1,751
3. Ezekiel, +1,350
4. Mateo, +1,181
5. Lincoln, +1,032
6. Theodore, +1,018
7. Matias, +643
8. Leo, +642
9. Jameson, +639
10. Rowan, +637

Other names that saw raw number increases in the 300+ range included Asher, Santiago, Ezra, Rhett, Waylon, and Legend.

And now let’s check out decreases…

Boy Names: Biggest Decreases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Riaan, -421 spots
2. Kylo, -245
3. Kolby, -195
4. Urijah, -189
5. Kamdyn, -189
6. Jamar, -163
7. Giovani, -160
8. Nickolas, -155
9. Chad, -155
10. Jair, -147

The higher they climb, the harder they fall: Riaan was the fastest-rising boy name of 2015, and Kylo was the fastest-rising boy name of 2016, and now they’re both plummeting in 2017.

Raw Numbers

1. Mason, -1,728 babies
2. Michael, -1,478
3. Ethan, -1,417
4. Jacob, -1,373
5. Daniel, -1,281
6. Andrew, -1,161
7. Gabriel, -1,124
8. Anthony, -1,049
9. Matthew, -994
10. Owen, -970

Other names that saw raw number drops in the (negative) 300+ range included Aiden, Jackson, Gavin, Ryder, Jase, Hudson, and Tristan.

Do you have any explanations for the name movement above? If so, please comment!

Sources: Change in Popularity, SSA, Emma and Liam Top Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2017

Popular Baby Names in Ireland, 2017

Ireland’s rankings came out early this year! Typically we don’t see them until the start of June, but this year they were released at the end of February.

Anyway…according to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the most popular baby names in the country in 2017 were Emily and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emily
2. Emma
3. Amelia
4. Grace
5. Sophie
6. Lucy
7. Hannah
8. Mia
9. Ava
10. Chloe

Boy Names
1. Jack
2. James
3. Daniel
4. Conor
5. Sean
6. Noah
7. Luke
8. Harry
9. Adam
10. Michael

In the girls’ top 10, Chloe replaces Lily.

In the boys’ top 10, Harry replaces Oisin.

Interesting factoid: “While there were 2,981 baby boys named John [the #1 boy name] 50 years ago, taken together the five most popular boys’ names in 2017 accounted for 2,765 baby boys.”

The names that saw the most growth in popularity — just within the top 100, I believe — were:

  • Girl names by…
    • Rank: Aoibhin (+81 spots), Nina (+41 spots), Hazel & Pippa (tie; +21 spots each)
    • Number of babies: Aoibhin (+57), Evie (+54), Sadie (+34)
  • Boy names by…
    • Rank: Theo (+33 spots), Jackson (+29 spots), Ruairi (+27 spots)
    • Number of babies: Luke (+45), Logan (+44), Harry (+36)

In 2016, the top two names were Emily and James.

Sources: Irish Babies’ Names 2017, Babies’ Names 2017 Tables, Jack and Emily most popular baby names in 2017

Popular Baby Names in San Diego, 2017

According to San Diego County’s Health and Human Services Agency, the most popular baby names in the county in 2017 were Emma and Liam.

Here are San Diego County’s top 7 girl names and top 7 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 282 baby girls
2. Mia, 251
3. Isabella, 225
4. Sophia, 210
5. Olivia, 209
6. Sofia, 171
7. Victoria, 156

Boy Names
1. Liam, 222 baby boys
2. Oliver, 195
3. Mateo & Noah & Sebastian, 194 each (3-way tie)
4. Alexander, 189
5. Benjamin, 180
6. Logan, 173
7. Daniel, 162

In 2016, the top two names were Emma and Noah.

Source: Most Popular Baby Names in San Diego in 2017