(male) Biblical name (meaning ‘God is my judge’ in Hebrew), borne by the prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel. He was an Israelite slave of the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar, who obtained great favour through his skill in interpreting dreams and the ‘writing on the wall’ at the feast held by Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar. His enemies managed to get him cast into a lions' den, but he was saved by God. This was a favourite tale in the Middle Ages, often represented in miracle plays. The name has been perennially popular among English speakers since the 16th century and has been particularly favoured since the 1980s.
Variant: Danyal.
Short form: Dan.
Pet form: Danny.
Cognates: Scottish Gaelic: Dàniel. Welsh: Deiniol. German, Scandinavian: Daniel. Dutch: Daniël. French, Spanish, Portuguese: Daniel. Italian: Daniele. Russian: Daniil. Polish, Czech: Daniel. Finnish: Taneli. Hungarian: Dániel.
Scottish: 1. habitational name, deriving in most cases from the place so called in Annandale, in Dumfriesshire. This is derived from the genitive case of the personal name John + Middle English tone, toun ‘settlement’ (Old English tūn). There are other places in Scotland so called, including the city of Perth, which used to be known as St. John's Toun, and some of these may also be sources of the surname. 2. variant of Johnson (see John), with intrusive -t-.
FOREBEARS As far as can be ascertained, most Scottish bearers of this surname are descendants of a certain John, probably a Norman baron from England, who held lands at Johnstone in Annandale from the Bruce family in the late 12th century. His son Gilbert was the first to take the surname Johnstone and their descendants later held the earldom of Annandale.
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