A theophoric name meaning 'God is my judge,' composed of din ('to judge') and El ('God'). The name belongs primarily to the protagonist of the book of Daniel, a Judean exile who rose to prominence in the Babylonian and Persian courts through his gift of dream interpretation and unwavering faithfulness (Dan 2-6). His apocalyptic visions (Dan 7-12) became foundational for later Jewish and Christian eschatology. The name also designates a son of David by Abigail (1 Chr 3:1) and a postexilic priest who sealed the covenant under Nehemiah (Neh 10:7). Cross-linguistic renderings are uniformly transliterated (Spanish Daniel, French Daniel, German Daniel), reflecting its global familiarity as a biblical proper noun.