MEANING & CONTEXT
What does Dan mean?
The Sanskrit noun dana covers both giving and the gift itself. Its use in Indian ethical and devotional writing supplies the name's generosity theme.
Spellings in Indian scripts
Devanagari
दान
Conventional spelling
HISTORICAL VOTER RECORDS
Dan in Indian usage
11,642 historical electoral-roll records, chiefly adults, rather than current baby-name rankings.
Mostly recorded for boys (90%) in these historical records.
- Recorded as female: 1,170 records (10%).
- Recorded as male: 10,472 records (90%).
By birth decade
| Birth decade | Records |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 965 |
| 1950s | 1,574 |
| 1960s | 2,230 |
| 1970s | 2,345 |
| 1980s | 2,577 |
| 1990s | 1,485 |
| Other decades | 466 |
By state or territory
| State / territory | Records |
|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | 5,014 |
| Uttarakhand | 3,209 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 996 |
| Rajasthan | 932 |
| Haryana | 451 |
| Punjab | 392 |
| Maharashtra | 120 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 109 |
| Other states | 419 |
How to read these numbers
Small counts and a second count where needed are withheld for privacy; an omitted value is not zero. Coverage, dates and suppression.
Recorded abroad
Official births registered in 2025, for the exact spelling shown.
| Jurisdiction | Spelling / recorded sex | Births | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| England & Wales | Dan / M | 26 | 1,124 |
| England & Wales | Dan / F | 4 | 4,867 |
ONS and National Records of Scotland; Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3. Counts follow each office’s publication rules.
Explore related lists
Sources
- Historical Indian voter-record totals, v3 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Historical usage; CC0 1.0; birth years 1910–2001
- England & Wales 2025 birth statistics: Exact spelling Dan; Table_6, C1137 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Exact spelling Dan; Table_6, C1137
- England & Wales 2025 birth statistics: Exact spelling Dan; Table_6, C5124 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Exact spelling Dan; Table_6, C5124
- Monier-Williams, dāna, p. 474,1 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Adapted dictionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0.