McDaniel surname meaning

McDaniel looks straightforwardly like “son of Daniel,” and some families may indeed use it as an English patronymic built on Daniel. Surname references also record an Irish route: McDaniel can be an altered form of McDonnell, from Gaelic Mac Domhnaill, “son of Donal,” reshaped through association with the Biblical name Daniel. MacDaniel and McDonnell are therefore important variant or comparison forms, not proof of a single origin. Parent’s name is the correct broad type because both leading explanations are patronymic. Confidence is disputed because the older Irish path and the later Daniel association cannot always be separated in records.