Given name & surname · also Urdu
Danish
Danish is a masculine given name from Urdu, ultimately from Classical Persian. It is used in English and Malay.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Danish comes from Urdu, and ultimately from Classical Persian.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Urdu دَانِش, from Classical Persian دَانِش.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1983. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Danish through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 425
- 425 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2003
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #9,096 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,096 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 20 in 2003. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,018 as a first name in 2020; 1,004 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Danish’s family of names
In English usage, Danish as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with DENCH. Danish has a related form in دانيش.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Danish
- Danish SiddiquiIndian photojournalist (1983-2021)
- Danish KaneriaPakistani cricketerborn 1980
- Danish MujtabaIndian hockey playerborn 1988
- Danish Atlas KhanPakistani squash playerborn 1994
- Danish AslamIndian film director
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Danish, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Harutyun
Harutyun is a masculine given name from Armenian.
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Imtiaz
Imtiaz is a surname from Persian.
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Cem
Cem is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Classical Persian. It is used in Turkish.
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