100 Daddy-Daughter Quotes That Show the Special Bond Between Fathers and Their Little Girls

From the moment they are born, little girls can have their fathers wrapped around their pinkie fingers. As their children’s protector, dads guide sons and daughters along the path of life. Leading by example, offering advice when needed (and sometimes even when it’s not needed!), sharing dad jokes, being a safe place to land and fostering their kids’ confidence are just a few of a man’s job as a dad. But when it comes to fathers and daughters, there’s a special bond that a little girl shares with her daddy that is perfectly summed up with these father-daughter quotes.

A little girl’s first hero will be her dad, and no matter how old she grows, a darling daughter will forever be her father’s princess. Whether you are a father looking for a special message about your daughter, or a daughter seeking to share some lovely words to let your dad know how much he means to you, there are plenty of daddy-daughter quotes that you can choose from to express your love. From sentimental song lyrics to funny things celebrity dads have said about their daughters, this selection of father-daughter quotes perfectly puts into words just how special the bond between a man and his female child can be.

So if you are looking to share something about your little girl on Instagram, write a sweet message to your pop in a card to go with his birthday or Father's Day present, or just want to send a text message, these 100 quotes about fathers and daughters will give you plenty of options to pick from!

100 Best Father-Daughter Quotes

1. “The smile of a daughter is the secret purpose of every father.” — Unknown

2. “No one in this world can love a girl more than her father.” — Michael Ratnadeepak

3. “A father is a son’s first hero and a daughter’s first love.” — Unknown

4. “A father’s tears and fears are unseen, his love is unexpressed, but his care and protection remain as a pillar of strength throughout our lives.” ― Ama H. Vanniarachchy

5. “I may find my prince, but my dad will always be my king.” — Unknown

6. “Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes.” — Gloria Naylor

7. “For father, his daughter is no less than a breath.” — Sachin Ramdas Bharatiya

8. “Fathers, be your daughter’s first love and she’ll never settle for anything less.” — Unknown

9. “To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter.” — Euripides

10. “A father’s job is not to teach his daughter how to be a lady. It’s to teach her how a lady should be treated.” — Unknown

11. “Daughters always revel in their mother’s admiration. And daughters always bask in their father’s love.” ― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr., The Wealth Reference Guide 

12. “Little daughters are the only people able to soften the hearts of strong men.” — Unknown

13. “She did not stand alone, but what stood behind her, the most potent moral force in her life, was the love of her father.” — Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman 

14. “A father’s job is not to teach his daughter how to be a lady. It’s to teach her how a lady should be treated.” — Unknown

15. “He sweeps her hair back from her ears; he swings her above his head. He says she is his émerveillement. He says he will never leave her, not in a million years.” — Anthony Doerr, All The Light We Cannot See 

16. “A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against she will judge all men.” — Gregory E. Lang

17. “No one is able to make the female a queen except her father.” — Arab Proverb

18. “A father holds his daughter's hand for a short while, but he holds her heart forever.” — Unknown

19. “A daughter is a treasure and a cause of sleeplessness.” — Ben Sirach

20. “They say that from the instant he lays eyes on her, a father adores his daughter. Whoever she grows up to be, she is always to him that little girl in pigtails.” — Unknown

Related: Mother-Daughter Quotes That Will Warm Your Heart

21. “A good father will leave his imprint on his daughter for the rest of her life.” — Dr. James Dobson

22. “The main reason why a daughter needs a dad is to show her that not all boys are like the ones who hurt her.” — Unknown

23. “He gives her the best gift a woman can get in this world: protection. And the little girl learns to trust the man in her life.” — Adriana Trigiani, Big Stone Gap 

24. “A little girl giggles when she is denied an ice cream by her mother. She knows daddy will get her some later.” — Unknown

25. “To her, the name of father was another name for love.” — Fanny Fern

26. “The most admirable thing ever has to be a father protecting his daughter.” — Unknown

27. “It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping.” — John Sinor

28. “The greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is to love her mother.” — Elaine S. Dalton

29. “One of life’s greatest mysteries is how the boy who wasn’t good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world.” — Unknown

30. “A daughter can lead to baldness, but the remainder of the road is just as smooth.” — Bryan Pulsifer

31. “There is no place higher than on daddy’s shoulders.” — Unknown

Quotes From Fathers About Daughters

32. “Fathers and daughters have a special bond. She is always daddy’s little girl.” ― Richard L. Ratliff

33. “Many a man wishes he were strong enough to tear a telephone book in half―especially if he has a teenage daughter.” — Guy Lombardo

34. “One of the greatest things about daughters is how they adored you when they were little; how they rushed into your arms with electric delight and demanded that you watch everything they do and listen to everything they say.” — Michael Josephson

35. “When I come home, my daughter will run to the door and give me a big hug, and everything that’s happened that day just melts away.” — Hugh Jackman

36. “Watching your daughter being collected by her date feels like handing over a million-dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla.” — Jim Bishop

37. “Any astronomer can predict with absolute accuracy just where every star in the universe will be at 11:30 tonight. He can make no such prediction about his teenage daughter.” — James T. Adams

38. “The happiest moment of my life was probably when my daughter was born.” — David Duchovny

39. “My life is a fairy tale because it revolves around a princess—my beautiful daughter.” — Dumitru D. Coman

40. “You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. She looks up to you. You’re her oracle. You’re her hero. And then the day comes when she gets her first permanent wave and goes to her first real party, and from that day on, you’re in a constant state of panic.” — Stanley T. Banks

Related: Happy Father’s Day Messages

41. “Having a daughter makes you see things in a different way. This is my only girl. So, I don’t care what it takes to protect her. You can call it what you want to call it. As long as you treat her the same way I treat her, like my princess, I don’t mind.” — Tracy Morgan

42. “I watch my daughter wanting to be like other kids and getting upset that she's not. But I always try and instill in her the idea that she's perfect as she is.” — Idris Elba

43. “A man’s daughter is his heart. Just with feet, walking out in the world.” — Mat Johnson, Loving Day

44. “I took my daughter to the father-daughter dance, and I cried like a little baby. She’s 11 years old, so seeing her get dressed up and pretty made me cry.” — Kevin Hart

45. “I don't have to prepare to be wrapped around my daughter's finger. I have been wrapped around her little finger since the day she plopped out into this world.” — Ryan Reynolds

46. “When my daughter says, ‘Daddy, I need you!’ I wonder if she has any idea that I need her billion times more.” — Stanley Behrman

47. “The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.” — Garrison Keillor

48. “Dads immediately fall in love with their little girls and will let them get away with everything. So, moms are going to have to be the disciplinarians when it comes to daughters.” — Jimmy Fallon

49. “My best smile is probably when I'm holding my daughter.” — Chance The Rapper

50. “I rescind my early statement, ‘I could never fall in love with a girl who regularly poops her pants.’ I hadn't met my daughter yet.” — Dax Shepard

51. “My daughter got me a World’s Best Dad mug. So, we know she’s sarcastic.”  — Bob Odenkirk

Quotes From Daughters About Dad

52. “My dear father; my dear friend; the best and wisest man I ever knew, who taught me many lessons and showed me many things as we went together along the country by-ways.” — Sarah Orne Jewett

53. “I love my father as the stars—he’s a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart.” — Terri Guillemets

54. “There will always be a few people who have the courage to love what is untamed inside us. One of those men is my father.” — Alison Lohman

55. “I love my Daddy. My Daddy’s everything. I hope I can find a man that will treat me as good as my dad.” — Lady Gaga

Related: The Best Songs About Dads

56. “Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter.” — Joseph Addison

57. “My dad believed in me, even when I didn't. He always knew I could do this.” — Taylor Swift

58. “Being a daddy’s girl is like having a permanent armor for the rest of your life.” — Marinela Reka

59. “My Daddy was my hero. He was always there for me when I needed him. He listened to me and taught me so many things. But most of all he was fun.” — Bindi Irwin

60. “When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back.” — Linda Poindexter

61. “My father died many years ago, and yet when something special happens to me, I talk to him secretly not really knowing whether he hears, but it makes me feel better to half believe it.” — Natasha Josefowitz

62. “My father, he was like the rock, the guy you went to with every problem.” — Gwyneth Paltrow

63. “Daddy, thanks for being my hero, chauffeur, financial support, listener, life mentor, friend, guardian and simply being there every time I need a hug.” — Agatha Stephanie Lin

64. “I am not ashamed to say that no man I ever met was my father’s equal, and I never loved any other man as much.” — Hedy Lamarr

65. “My dad is awesome. But you know what they say, ‘Like father like daughter.’” — Unknown

66. “[My father] has always provided me a safe place to land and a hard place from which to launch.”— Chelsea Clinton

67. “My mother gave me my drive, but my father gave me my dreams.” — Liza Minelli

Related: 45 Cute Father's Day Questions to Ask Your Dad and Your Kids

68. “You gotta love dads. At my wedding, when I tripped on my wedding dress and fell flat on my face, Dad said, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll do better next time.’” — Melanie White

69. “Fathers just have a way of putting everything together.” — Erika Cosby

70. “It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.”— Anne Sexton

71. “I am my father’s daughter, and I am not afraid of anything.” — Elizabeth I, Elizabeth

72. “It was my father who taught me to value myself.” — Dawn French

Quotes From Songs About Dads and Daughters

73. “There's two things I know for sure: She was sent here from heaven and she's daddy's little girl.” — Bob Carlisle, “Butterfly Kisses”

74. “They don't make men like my daddy anymore.” — Loretta Lynn, “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy”

75. “You’re the end of the rainbow, my pot o’ gold. You’re Daddy’s little girl to have and hold.” — Michael Bublé, “Daddy’s Little Girl”

76. “Things are going to change so fast. I tell you that I’ll always want you near.” — Tori Amos, “Winter”

77. “So you’ll always know, as long as one and one is two, there could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you.” — Paul Simon, “Father and Daughter”

78. “Gonna dance with my daughter. Spin her around under the lights. ‘Cause I’m just a father making the most of this moment in time.” — Jason Blaine, “Dance With My Daughter”

79. “For all the things my eyes have seen, the best by far is you.” — Andrew McMahon, “Cecilia and The Satellite”

Related: 50 'Happy Heavenly Father's Day' Wishes

80. “You are my hero and that will never change. You still can dry my tears with just a smile.” — Natalie Grant, “I’ll Always Be Your Baby”

81. “When times are hard, I know you’ll be strong. I’ll be there in your heart when you’ll carry on. Like moonlight on the water, and sunlight in the sky, fathers, and daughters never say goodbye.” — Michael Bolton, “Fathers and Daughters”

82. “Goodnight, my angel, now it’s time to dream. Dream how wonderful your life will be.” — Billy Joel, “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)”

83. “Isn’t she pretty, truly the angel’s best. I’m so happy we have been Heaven-blessed.” — Stevie Wonder, “Isn’t She Lovely”

84. “I wanna hold you, protect you from all of the things I’ve already endured. And I wanna show you, show you all the things that this life has in store for you. And I’ll always love you, the way that a father should love his daughter.” — Staind, “Zoe Jane”

85. “From the first breath she breathed, when she first smiled at me, I knew the love of a father runs deep, and I prayed that she’d find you someday. But it’s still hard to give her away, I loved her first.” — Heartland, “I Loved Her First”

86. “Hey, little girl, look what you’ve done. You’ve gone and stole my heart and made it your own.” — Jack Johnson, “My Little Girl”

87. “Life flies by in seconds. You’re not a baby, Gracie, you’re my friend.” — Ben Folds, “Gracie”

88. “Maybe I paint the sky blue; my greatest creation was you.” — Jay-Z, “Glory”

89. “Go on, take on this whole world. But to me you know you'll always be my little girl.” — Tim McGraw, “My Little Girl”

#GirlDad Instagram Captions

90. Guns don’t kill people… dads with pretty daughters do.

91. The laugh of a daughter is the favorite symphony of a father.

92. Behind every great daughter is a truly amazing dad.

93. My fingers may be small, but I’ve got my daddy wrapped around them.

94. Thanks for being the cool parent. Don’t tell Mom.

95. There is this girl who stole my heart, and she calls me ‘Daddy.’

96. When a daughter is born, an ordinary life of a man turns into an extraordinary life of a father.

97. You can’t scare me. I have two daughters.

98. Yes, I do have a beautiful daughter. I also have a gun, a shovel, and an alibi.

99. Like father like daughter. I’m not surprised.

100. My daughter doesn't have any daddy issues. But I guarantee her boyfriends will.

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