Dan is a given name and surname in various cultures.

Given name

Origins as a given name

Dan is an old Scandinavian given name with several disputed origins. The most likely being that it originated from the Old Norse nam

for Danes. This in turn originated from the Proto-Germanic Masculine wor
"Daniz"
There are several historical variants including "Halbadaniz". Meaning; "Half-Dane". Alongsid
"Daniskaz"
where the "Iskaz" suffix refers to the term "Ish" ("modernised as Danish"). The name Dan is also a Hebrew given name, after

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

, the fifth son of Jacob with Bilhah and founder of the Israelite

Tribe of Dan The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. They were allocated a coastal portion of land when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, later moving northwards. Biblical narrative In th ...

. It is also (along with the variant

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

) a given name or a nickname for people named Daniel.

Surname

Origins

As an English surname, Dan is a variant spelling of

Dann Dann is an English surname. It is a toponymic surname which came from Middle English and Old English , "valley". Variant spellings include Dan and Dane. According to statistics compiled by Patrick Hanks on the basis of the 2011 United Kingdom ...

. Dann, another variant spelling of which is

Dane Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

, is a

toponymic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

which derives from the Old-Norse and earlier as the Proto-Germanic word . It also originates from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

and

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

, "valley". The

Hebrew surname The Hebraization of surnames (also Hebraicization) ( he, עברות, ''Ivrut'', "Hebraization") is the act of adopting a Hebrew surname in exchange for a diaspora name. For many diaspora Jews who migrated to Israel, taking a Hebrew surname wa ...

Dan ( he, דן) is a biblical name which refers to the

tribe of Dan The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. They were allocated a coastal portion of land when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, later moving northwards. Biblical narrative In th ...

. As a given name it first appears in Genesis 30. The

Hungarian surname Hungarian names include surnames and given names. Some people have more than one given name, but only one is normally used. In the Hungarian language, whether written or spoken, names are invariably given in the " Eastern name order", or family ...

Dán is an abbreviation of Dániel. There are multiple

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

s which are

romanised Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as Dan, including: *, meaning "red" * There are multiple

Japanese surname Officially, among Japanese names there are 291,129 different Japanese surnames, as determined by their kanji, although many of these are pronounced and romanized similarly. Conversely, some surnames written the same in kanji may also be pronounced ...

s which are

as Dan, including: *, meaning ''

Euonymus hamiltonianus ''Euonymus hamiltonianus'', known by the common names Hamilton's spindletree, Himalayan spindle, and Siebold's spindle is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae. It is native to Asia, where it is distributed in Afghanistan, Russi ...

'', and also used in the names of various species of other trees, including

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

s * (

Kyūjitai ''Kyūjitai'' ( ja, 舊字體 / 旧字体, lit=old character forms) are the traditional forms of kanji, Chinese written characters used in Japanese. Their simplified counterparts are ''shinjitai'' ( ja, 新字体, lit=new character forms, lab ...

: ), meaning "group" There are three separate

Korean surname A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''seo ...

s spelled in the

Revised Romanization of Korean Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Min ...

as Dan (), each written with a different

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

. Bearers of each surname identify with a number of distinct ''

bon-gwan Bon-gwan (or Bongwan) is the concept of clan in Korea, which is used to distinguish clans that happen to share the same family name (clan name). Since Korea has been traditionally a Confucian country, this clan system is similar to ancient Chinese ...

'', which are hometowns of clan

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

s. * The most common, (; ), means "stairs". This character is also used to write the Chinese surname now pronounced Duàn in Mandarin. Major clans with this surname include: **The Gangeum Dan clan ("Gangeum" being the Sino-Korean reading of the name of the city of

Jiangyin Jiangyin (, Jiangyin dialect: ) is a county-level city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, and is administered by Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Jiangyin is one of the most important transport hubs on the Yangtze River, it is also one of the most d ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, China), who claim descent from , a

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

official whose great-great-grandson Dan Hui-sang was dispatched to Korea during the 1592–1598 Japanese invasions of Korea **The , who claim descent from Dan Gan-mok (), an official under Chungnyeol of Goryeo. * The second most common, (; ), means "single" or "one". This character is also used to write the Chinese surname now pronounced Shàn in Mandarin. * The least common, (; ), means "end".

Statistics

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, the 2000 census found 1,429 people belonging to 437 households with the surname Dan meaning "stairs". There were also 122 people belonging to 40 households with the surname Dan meaning "single", and 34 people belonging to nine households with the surname Dan meaning "end". According to statistics cited by

Patrick Hanks Patrick Hanks (born 24 March 1940) is an English lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician. He has edited dictionaries of general language, as well as dictionaries of personal names. Background Hanks was educated at Ardingly College, ...

, there were 284 people on the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and 13 people on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

with the surname Dan as of 2011. There had been 177 bearers of the surname in Great Britain in 1881, primarily in

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

found 2,599 people with the surname Dan, making it the 12,012th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 2,315 (12,317th-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, about half of the bearers of the surname identified as White, and one-quarter as Asian. Dan was the 1,670th-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 Census who identified as Asian.

People

Chinese surnames Dān () and Dàn ()

Dan Duyu Dan Duyu (但杜宇; 1897–1972), also romanized as Dan Do-yu, was a Chinese film director and cinematographer who directed more than 30 films from 1922 to 1952. He was married to film actress Yin Mingzhu (who starred in his 1927 film '' The Cav ...

(; 1897–1972), Chinese film director *

Judy Dan Judy Dan (; born September 9, 1930) is a Chinese-American actress. Biography Judy Dan was born in Shanghai on September 9, 1930, the daughter of film director Dan Duyu and actress Yin Mingzhu, and was raised in Hong Kong. She worked for Cathay P ...

(; born 1930), Chinese-born American actress * Yang Dan (neuroscientist) (), Chinese-born American neuroscientist

Japanese surnames Dan ()

Fumi Dan (born June 5, 1954) is a Japanese actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 17th Japan Academy Prize for her role in ''Bloom in the Moonlight''. Her father is the novelist Kazuo Dan and she herself has won awards for her ess ...

(; born 1954), Japanese actress *

Jirō Dan is a Japanese actor, singer and model best known for his role as Hideki Go (Ultraman ''The Return of Ultraman''. His real name is Hideo Murata (村田秀雄). He was born in Kyoto and graduated from Heian High School. Selected filmography Film ...

(), stage name of Hideo Murata (born 1949), Japanese actor *

Kazuo Dan was a Japanese people, Japanese novelist and poet. Biography Dan was born in what is now part of Tsuru, Yamanashi, Tsuru, Yamanashi Prefecture, to a family originally from Kyūshū. His father's work required frequent changes of residence, so Da ...

(; 1912–1976), Japanese novelist and poet * Mitsu Dan (), stage name of Shizuka Saitō (born 1980), Japanese actress *

Rei Dan , known professionally as , is a Japanese actress. She began her career as a member of the Takarazuka Revue. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize for '' Kabei: Our Mother''. Filmography Dramas Film * ' ...

(), stage name of Mayumi Yamazaki (born 1971), Japanese actress *

Tomoyuki Dan was a Japanese actor and voice actor from Osaka Prefecture. He was affiliated with Seinenza Theater Company at the time of his death. With his unique voice, Dan was best known for the voices of Kisame Hoshigaki in Naruto and Cronicle Asher in ' ...

(; 1963–2013), Japanese actor and voice actor

Romanian

* Alexandru Dan (born 1994), Romanian football midfielder * Aurora Dan (born 1955), Romanian fencer * Cristian Florin Dan (born 1979), Romanian football playmaker * Călin Dan (born 1955), Romanian artist, theorist, and curator *

Dan Petrescu Daniel Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and represented Premier Leag ...

(b. 1967), Romanian football manager and former player *

Dan Petrescu (businessman) Dan Petrescu (1953 – 3 October 2021) was a Romanian businessman and billionaire, among the richest people in Romania. Born in 1953 in Bucharest, Petrescu studied at the Politehnica University of Bucharest. After graduating, Petrescu married h ...

(1953–2021), Romanian businessman and billionaire *

Jo Jo Dan Jo Jo Dan (born Ionuț Dan Ion; 9 August 1981) is a Romanian professional boxer and world title challenger. He currently fights out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Professional boxing career Dan made his professional debut in 2004. On 30 November ...

(born 1981), Romanian boxer *

Marin Dan Marin Dan (born 30 August 1948) is a retired Romanian Team handball, handball player. He earned 98 caps for the national team and scored 160 goals, winning the world title in 1974 and an Olympic bronze medal in 1972. After retiring from competit ...

(born 1948), Romanian handball player * Matei-Agathon Dan (born 1949), Romanian economist and politician *

Nicușor Dan Nicușor Dan (born 20 December 1969) is a Romanian activist, mathematician, former member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania as well as former founder and leader of the centre-right Romanian political party Save Romania Union (USR). He is cu ...

(born 1969), Romanian activist and mathematician *

Pavel Dan Pavel Dan (September 3, 1907 – August 2, 1937) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prose writer. He was born in Tritenii de Jos, Clapa, Cluj County, in the Transylvania region. His parents, Simion Dan and Maria (''née'' Te ...

(1907–1937), Romanian short story writer *

Sergiu Dan Sergiu Dan (; born Isidor Rotman or Rottman; December 29, 1903 – March 13, 1976) was a Romanian novelist, journalist, Holocaust survivor and political prisoner of the communist regime. Dan, the friend and collaborator of Romulus Dianu, was noted ...

(1903–1976), Romanian novelist

Other

* Aubrey Dan (born 1963), Canadian businesswoman * Bill Dan, Indonesian-born American sculptor and performance artist *

Fyodor Dan Fyodor Ilyich Dan (surname at birth: Gurvich) (died 22 January 1947) was a political activist and journalist who helped found the Menshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Background Fyodor Dan was born to a Jewish family ...

(1871–1947), Russian Marxist revolutionary *

Joseph Dan Joseph Dan (, 1935 – 23 July 2022) was an Israeli scholar of Jewish mysticism. He taught for over 40 years in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was the first incumbent of the Gershom Scholem Chair ...

(born 1935), Hungarian-born Israeli scholar of Jewish mysticism *

Leslie Dan Leslie Lewis Dan, (born November 26, 1929), is a Canadians, Canadian-Hungarians, Hungarian businessman and pharmacist. The founder of Novopharm, a successful generic pharmaceutical company which he subsequently sold to Teva Pharmaceuticals. A not ...

(born 1929), Hungarian-born Canadian businessman *

Liran Dan Liran Dan is an Israeli government official and media executive. He was the Director of Communications at the Prime Minister's Office and Chief Media Adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He announced his resignation in March ...

(), Israeli government official and media executive *

Paul Dan Paul "Diddy" Dan (born 1985) is a rugby union player hailing from Newcastle, New South Wales. Career Rising to prominence through St Francis Xavier College under the tutelage of Mark Wright, Dan played first grade for the Hamilton Hawks as a t ...

(born 1985), Australian rugby union player *

Seaman Dan Henry Gibson Dan (25 August 1929– 30 December 2020), known as Seaman Dan, an Indigenous Australian, was a Torres Strait Islander singer-songwriter with a national and international reputation whose first recording was released in 2000. His al ...

(Henry Gibson Dan, 1929–2020), Australia-Torres Straits Islander singer

References

{{Surname English-language surnames Hebrew-language surnames Romanian-language surnames Romanian masculine given names Chinese-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames Japanese-language surnames Korean-language surnames English masculine given names English unisex given names