Daniel Family History

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Jewish, Assyrian/Chaldean, West Indian (mainly Haiti), and African (mainly Nigeria and Tanzania); Breton (rarely Le Daniel); Hungarian (Dániel): from the Biblical personal name Daniel Syriac (Assyrian/Chaldean) Dānīʾēl Hungarian Dániel (from Hebrew Daniyyel ‘God is my judge’) borne by a major prophet in the Bible.

The chief factor influencing the popularity of the personal name (and hence the frequency of the surname) was undoubtedly the dramatic story in the Book of Daniel recounting the prophet's steadfast adherence to his religious faith despite pressure and persecution from the Mesopotamian kings in whose court he served: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius.

The name was also borne by a 2nd-century Christian martyr and by a 9th-century hermit, the legend of whose lives were popular among Christians during the Middle Ages. Among Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe, the name was also popular as being that of a 4th-century Persian martyr who was venerated in the Orthodox Church.

In France, this surname is most common in Brittany. Irish (Tipperary and Waterford): shortened form of McDaniel, which is actually a variant of McDonnell, from the Gaelic form of Irish Donal (equivalent to Scottish Donald) erroneously associated with the Biblical personal name Daniel. See also O'Donnell.

Americanized or Germanized form of Slovenian Danijel: from the Biblical personal name Danijel ‘Daniel’ (see 1 above).