Show ContentsDaniel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Daniel Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Daniel

What does the name Daniel mean?

The Italian surname Daniel is derived from the given name Daniel, originally a Hebrew word which meant "God is my Judge." During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Italy, who were originally known only by a single name, found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era.

Early Origins of the Daniel family

The surname Daniel was first found in Bolgna (Latin: Bononia), the largest city and the capital of Emilia-Romagna Region. The famous University of Bolgna was founded in the 11th century, by the 13th century the student body was nearly 10,000. Dante and Petrarch studied there. Tisso was tried there for 1564 for writing satirical poems. Earliest records of the surname Daniel date back to the year 1400, when Bernardino Danielo was a famous poet in the town of Lucca. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time was in itself a family honor.

Early History of the Daniel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Daniel research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1700, 1720, 1740, 1774 and 1787 are included under the topic Early Daniel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Daniel Spelling Variations

In comparison with other European surnames, Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms. They reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each with its own distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the typical Italian surname suffix is "i", whereas in Southern Italy it is "o". Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. The spelling variations in the name Daniel include Danieli, Daniele, Danielis, Danielli, Daniello, Danello, Dainelli, Danielli, Daniello, Danello, Dainelon, Danelutti, Danelut, Danielut, Dani and many more.

Early Notables of the Daniel family

  • Giovanni Battista Danieletti, a stone carver in Padua around 1720, Francesco Daniele, born in Caserta in 1740, a prominent intellectual and a man of letters, as well as Luigi Danele, considered to be...
  • Giovanni Danieletti, born in 1774, was a sculptor who specialized in the rococò style...
  • Giacomo Danieletti was one of the most talented architects in Padua and won first prize in an architecture contest in 1787...

Daniel World Ranking

the United States, the name Daniel is the 334th most popular surname with an estimated 82,071 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Daniel is ranked the 161st most popular surname with an estimated 20,107 people with that name. 2 And in Australia, the name Daniel is the 434th popular surname with an estimated 8,684 people with that name. 3 New Zealand ranks Daniel as 880th with 832 people. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Daniel as 819th with 8,289 people. 5

Daniel migration to the United States +

Early records show that people bearing the name Daniel arrived in North America quite early:

Daniel Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Daniel who settled in Virginia in 1606
  • Thomas Daniel, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 7
Daniel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Daniel Daniel, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 7
  • James Daniel, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 7
  • Alex and Francis Daniel, who settled in Maryland in 1774
Daniel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Mary Daniel, who landed in New York, NY in 1815 7
  • Michael Daniel, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 7
  • Owen Daniel, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 7
  • T Daniel, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 7
  • Tho Daniel, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Daniel Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. James Daniel, (b. 1878), aged 22, Cornish miner, from Camborne, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Oceanic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 29th August 1900 en route to Hancock, Michigan, USA 8
  • Mr. William Daniel, (b. 1868), aged 32, Cornish labourer travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 10th March 1900 en route to Crystal Falls, Michigan, USA 8
  • Mr. Richard B Daniel, (b. 1875), aged 29, Cornish salesman, from Penzance, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 3rd September 1904 en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 8

Daniel migration to Canada +

Daniel Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Daniel lived in Chamballon, Quebec in 1695
Daniel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Madeleine Daniel married in 1709 in Boucherville, Quebec
  • Jacques Daniel, son of François and Marie, who married Madeleine Barbeau, daughter of Jean and Marie, in Montreal, Quebec on 18th January 1717 9
  • Joseph Daniel, son of Thomas and Barbe, who married Marie-Françoise Bilodeau, daughter of Antoine and Geneviève, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 30th September 1726 9
  • Jean Daniel, who landed in Canada in 1738
  • François Daniel, son of Thomas and Barbe, who married Marie-Catherine Sansaveu, daughter of Pierre and Marie-Madeleine, in Beaumont, Quebec on 23rd August 1756 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Daniel migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet
  • Mr. Robert Daniel, British settler convicted in Essex, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "William and Ann" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 6
Following the Second Fleet, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Daniel Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Daniel migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Daniel Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Ailan Daniel, who landed in Rangitikei, New Zealand in 1840
  • A. Daniel, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Wild Duck" in 1861
  • John Daniel, aged 34, a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875
  • Eliza Daniel, aged 33, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875
  • Clara Daniel, aged 10, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Daniel migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15
Daniel Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • John Daniel and his son settled in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Daniel (post 1700) +

  • Rhoda A. Daniel (b. 1920), American sergeant in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, first all-female, all-African-American battalion to server overseas
  • Clarence Welborn Daniel (1926-2016), American attorney and politician, Member of the Florida House of Representatives from Lake County (1957-1964)
  • Marion Price Daniel Sr. (1910-1988), American politician, Democratic U.S. Senator and the 38th Governor of the state of Texas
  • Rollin Augustus "Rod" Daniel III (1942-2016), American three-time Primetime Emmy Award nominated television and film director, known for Teen Wolf (1985), Beethoven's 2nd (1993), K-9 (1989) and Home Alone 4 (2002)
  • Brigadier-General Maurice Wiley Daniel (1896-1986), American Acting Chief of Staff, 4th Army (1949) 16
  • William Partlow Daniel (1915-2006), Governor of Guam and Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives
  • Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel (1846-1911), American distiller and the founder of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery
  • William A. Daniel, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
  • Laurance Thomas David Daniel (1942-2023), Wales international rugby union player
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. Kevin Henry Daniel (1912-1941), Australian Ordnance Artificer 4th Class from Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 17
  • Mr. Frank Daniel, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 18
  • Mr. John Daniel (b. 1853), Welsh coal miner who was working at the Prince of Wales colliery in Abercarn, Wales on the 11th September 1878 when there was a coal mine explosion; he died 19
  • Mr. Robert Williams Daniel, aged 27, American First Class passenger from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 3 20
  • Mr. Alfred E. Daniel, American Gunners Mate First Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 21
  • ... (Another 2 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Suggested Readings for the name Daniel +

  • John Daniel, Sr., 1724-1819, of Essex County, Virginia and Laurens County, South Carolina: His Virginia Ancestry and Some of His Descendants by Christine Gee.
  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  6. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
  7. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  9. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/experiment
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/broxbournebury
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
  14. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  16. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, January 10) Maurice Daniel. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Daniel/Maurice_Wiley/USA.html
  17. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
  18. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  19. Entombed in flood and flame (retrieved 3rd August 2021). Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120603025705/http://www.crosskeys.me.uk/history/prince.htm
  20. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
  21. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html

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