Dan is a Hebrew name that means "judge"; in the Bible Dan is a son of Jacob and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the United States it is best known as the short form of Daniel, and as a stand-alone name it peaked in the mid-20th century. Dan was still in the top 1000 at number 933 in 2000, but has since slipped to number 1962 in 2025.