Dagan

Dagan is a Hebrew term meaning grain or crop. In Biblical and modern Hebrew, dagan refers to grain crops and appears in religious, agricultural, and everyday contexts. The word also occurs in personal names and toponyms, often conveying abundance or fertility.

Dagan is used as a masculine given name in Israel and among Jewish communities. As a name, it evokes agricultural bounty and growth, reflecting the original meaning of the word.

In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Dagan (also transliterated Dagān) was a god of agriculture and grain. He is known from cuneiform texts dating to the third and second millennia BCE and was worshiped in several Mesopotamian and Levantine locales. Dagan is typically described as a fertility and agricultural deity; his character and associations vary by region, and he is sometimes connected with other major deities in local cults. The surviving texts provide limited details about myths or rituals, but his prominence in agricultural contexts underscores the importance of harvest and grain in ancient societies.

Today, the name Dagan continues to be used as a given name in Israel, and the term remains a common Hebrew word for grain. The form is sometimes encountered in transliteration from Hebrew and Akkadian sources, with variants reflecting different linguistic traditions.