David

What David means

Means “beloved”

From Middle English David, Davyd, Davyde, from Old English Dauid, David, from Late Latin Dāvīd, from Koine Greek Δαυῑ̈́δ (Dauī̈́d), from Biblical Hebrew דָּוִד (dāwiḏ, literally “beloved”).

Source: Wiktionary, “David” (revision 94538720), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is David?

US: Falling: down from #18 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #43 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1955, when 86,306 boys got the name (#2 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 251 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 382 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 339 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (7.52 per 1,000 boys), NY (7.05 per 1,000 boys), DE (6.79 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

David is #35 in the US and #73 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named David were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Dovid167 US · 10 E&W
• Divit41 US · 18 E&W
• Duvid28 US · 3 E&W
• Davit24 US
• Davide12 US · 6 E&W
• Davyd0 US · 10 E&W
• Deyvid10 US
• Deivid10 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Dave
• Davey
• Davie
• Davy
• Davo

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like David

Boys

• Daniel#22“God is my judge”^*
• Joe#991Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1936, with 8,023 babies; 230 in 2025
• Michael#21“who is like God?”^*
• Matthew#32“gift of the Lord”^*
• Joseph#29“(God) shall add”^*
• Mathew#973Variant of Matthew, meaning “gift of the Lord”^*

For a sister

• Michelle#465Feminine form of Michel, meaning “who is like God?”^*
• Jessica#665possibly “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe…^*
• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Samantha#151“listener”^*
• Jamie#857Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 12,895 babies; 316 in 2025
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like David’s. Rank is US 2025.