Fun Facts About the Name Dalet
- 68 babies named Dalet: U.S. records list 68 babies given the name Dalet from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Dalet Mean?
Dalet is a Hebrew name meaning "door." It is the name of the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, written ד and with vowel points as דָּלֶת, and its name comes from the same Semitic root as the Hebrew common noun delet (דֶּלֶת), "door." The letter name was formed from the object its sign pictured: the earliest form of the letter was a simple drawing of a door, and the sign was named with the word for that object, a pattern seen throughout the early Semitic alphabets. The Aramaic counterpart of the letter, dalath, is likewise tied to an Aramaic word for "door."
The literal sense is "door" or "doorway." Later Jewish teaching, especially in aggadic and mystical commentary, read symbolic meanings into the letter - such as humility or poverty, by connecting the name with the Hebrew word dal, "poor" - but these are interpretive associations, not the etymology of the name.
Dalet Name History & Origins
Dalet is the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and carries the numerical value four in Hebrew gematria. Its ultimate ancestor is the Proto-Sinaitic sign for a door, which passed into the Phoenician alphabet and then into the scripts used for Hebrew, Aramaic, and other Semitic languages. From the Phoenician letter the Greeks took delta (Δ), and the Romans derived D from the Greek form, so dalet stands at the head of a line of letters that includes the Latin D.
In the Hebrew script the letter has the shape of an open-sided square with a stroke descending at the right corner, read right to left. Traditional Jewish sources give the letter's name in different forms in different periods - dalet in Hebrew, dalath in Aramaic and Syriac - and the same letter name is cognate with the name of the Arabic letter dāl, though Arabic uses a different word, bāb, for an actual door.
As a personal name, Dalet is uncommon. It is not a biblical personal name used for people in the Hebrew Bible; its use as a given name comes from the letter itself, and the spelling Daleth is also seen as a transliteration. Its history as a name is therefore chiefly the history of the letter, not of an ancient Israelite individual.
How Popular is the Name Dalet?
Dalet has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2022. Its best rank was #7,721 in 2022.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #12,202 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #9,670 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #9,117 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #7,721 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #8,587 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #12,438 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #13,937 | 7 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Dalet Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Dalet's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Dalet's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.