boys' name ★ peaked 1958

Dan

Meaning A male given name from Hebrew Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #1,962 Trend → Stable

A male given name from Hebrew.

Rank 2025
#1,962
among boys · ↓37 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
88
named Dan · +7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 21,898
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1958
3,702 babies
All-time total
107,130
#300 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Dan popularity over time

107,130 babies have been named Dan since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 1,402 1,402 140 – #86
1890s – 1,274 1,274 127 -9% #104
1900s 5 1,499 1,504 150 +18% #121
1910s 38 4,737 4,775 478 +217% #164
1920s 109 8,100 8,209 821 +72% #161
1930s 76 9,629 9,705 971 +18% #149
1940s 56 18,017 18,073 1,807 +86% #109
1950s 72 26,009 26,081 2,608 +44% #109
1960s 45 22,709 22,754 2,275 -13% #111
1970s 54 5,550 5,604 560 -75% #232
1980s 63 2,808 2,871 287 -49% #435
1990s 8 1,860 1,868 187 -35% #658
2000s 19 1,440 1,459 146 -22% #933
2010s – 1,008 1,008 101 -31% #1,428
2020s (to 2025) 31 512 543 91 -10% #1,698

Where Dan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 77 0.05 outside top 500
2027 76 0.04 outside top 500
2028 75 0.04 outside top 500
2029 74 0.04 outside top 500
2030 74 0.04 outside top 500

Where Dan is most popular

Boys named Dan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.049 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, California, and Florida.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Dan born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New York 32 0.074 +50%
California 63 0.069 +40%
Florida 32 0.068 +37%
Washington 11 0.067 +36%
Texas 40 0.045 -8%
North Carolina 11 0.043 -13%
Tennessee 5 0.028 -44%
Michigan 5 0.024 -51%
Pennsylvania 6 0.023 -54%
Ohio 5 0.019 -62%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Dan

Dan is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,962 in 2025 with 78 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 107,130 American babies have been named Dan. Its peak came in 1958, when 3,702 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Dan stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Dan?

The median living Dan is about 65 years old; half are between 58 and 73. An estimated 62 thousand people named Dan are alive in the United States today.

median 65 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Dan year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 10 #9,603 78 #1,962
2024 – – 82 #1,925
2023 5 #15,747 100 #1,698
2022 9 #10,582 88 #1,830
2021 – – 78 #1,934
2020 7 #12,454 86 #1,769
2019 – – 103 #1,608
2018 – – 97 #1,659
2017 – – 96 #1,650
2016 – – 100 #1,610
2015 – – 91 #1,706
2014 – – 102 #1,559
2013 – – 88 #1,687
2012 – – 107 #1,501
2011 – – 108 #1,498
2010 – – 116 #1,428
2009 – – 117 #1,434
2008 – – 136 #1,276
2007 – – 150 #1,179
2006 – – 136 #1,230
2005 – – 157 #1,055
2004 7 #13,092 139 #1,134
2003 5 #16,357 146 #1,061
2002 – – 153 #1,012
2001 7 #12,367 143 #1,030
2000 – – 163 #933
1995 – – 171 #820
1990 – – 234 #658
1985 7 #8,549 264 #537
1980 7 #8,350 335 #461
1975 5 #9,377 448 #369
1970 8 #5,928 1,021 #232
1965 6 #5,941 1,992 #155
1960 – – 3,696 #111
1955 10 #3,832 2,304 #136
1950 10 #3,474 2,085 #129
1945 6 #4,126 1,726 #127
1940 6 #3,958 1,097 #155
1935 9 #2,972 1,015 #151
1930 9 #3,113 899 #165
1925 10 #3,159 772 #184
1920 7 #4,052 764 #185
1915 – – 578 #192
1910 – – 188 #164
1905 – – 152 #140
1900 – – 192 #121
1895 – – 96 #164
1890 – – 160 #104
1885 – – 129 #108
1880 – – 140 #98

Famous people named Dan

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Dan Aykroyd Dan Aykroyd Canadian and American actor and musician (born 1952) Contemporary
  2. 2 Dan Stevens Dan Stevens English actor (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Dan Bilzerian Dan Bilzerian American influencer (born 1980) Contemporary
  4. 4 Dan Brown Dan Brown American writer (born 1964) Contemporary
  5. 5 Dan Quayle Dan Quayle Vice President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 b. 1947 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Dan Marino Dan Marino American football player (born 1961) Contemporary
  7. 7 Dan Castellaneta Dan Castellaneta American actor (born 1957) Contemporary
  8. 8 Dan Fogler Dan Fogler American actor, comedian and writer (born 1976) Contemporary
  9. 9 Dan Blocker Dan Blocker American actor (1928–1972) Contemporary
  10. 10 Dan Rather Dan Rather American broadcast journalist (born 1931) Contemporary
  11. 11 Dan Hedaya Dan Hedaya American actor (born 1940) Contemporary
  12. 12 Dan Simmons Dan Simmons American science fiction and horror writer (1948–2026) Contemporary
  13. 13 Dan Sullivan Dan Sullivan American politician and lawyer (born 1964) Contemporary
  14. 14 Dan O'Herlihy Dan O'Herlihy Irish actor (1919–2005) Contemporary
  15. 15 Dan Duryea Dan Duryea American actor (1907–1968) Contemporary
  16. 16 Dan O'Bannon Dan O'Bannon American screenwriter, director and visual effects supervisor (1946–2009) Contemporary
  17. 17 Dan Ariely Dan Ariely Israeli-American professor of psychology and behavioral economics (born 1967) Contemporary
  18. 18 Dan Balan Dan Balan Moldovan musician (born 1979) Contemporary
  19. 19 Dan Inosanto Dan Inosanto Filipino-American martial arts instructor (born 1936) Contemporary
  20. 20 Dan Petrescu Dan Petrescu Romanian footballer and manager (born 1967) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Dan, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Dan?

The median living Dan is about 65 years old. Half of all living Dans are between 58 and 73 years old.

How many people named Dan are alive today?

An estimated 62 thousand people named Dan are alive in the United States, based on 107,130 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Dan mean?

A male given name from Hebrew.

How popular is the name Dan in 2025?

Dan ranked #1,962 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 78 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Dan?

107,130 babies have been named Dan in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Dan most popular?

Dan peaked in 1958, when 3,702 newborns received the name.

Is Dan a boy or girl name?

Dan is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Dan rising or falling?

Dan has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Dan become more popular?

Dan looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 74 boys named Dan in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Dan?

Well-known people named Dan include Dan Aykroyd (actor), Dan Stevens (actor), Dan Bilzerian (politician).

Names like Dan

Names that sound and feel close to Dan: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Dan with similar names → More names starting with D →