David is a common masculine given name of Hebrew origin. Its popularity derives from the initial oral tradition (Oral Torah) and recorded use related to King David, a central figure in the Torah and foundational to Judaism, and subsequently significant in the religious traditions of Christianity and Islam.
Etymology
David (Hebrew: דָּוִד, Modern: David, Tiberian: Dāwîḏ) means 'beloved', derived from the root dôwd (דּוֹד), which originally meant 'to boil', but survives in Biblical Hebrew only in the figurative usage 'to love'; specifically, it is a term for an uncle or figuratively, a lover/beloved (it is used in this way in the Song of Songs: אני לדודי ודודי לי, 'I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me').[2] In Christian tradition, the name was adopted as Syriac: ܕܘܝܕDawid, GreekΔαυίδ, LatinDavidus or David. The Quranic spelling is دَاوُۥدDāwūd or Dā'ūd.
The oldest, most popular and most commonly used diminutive form in the English speaking countries of David is Dav, which first appeared in written form in the 16th century.[citation needed] The nickname Dav or Dave has been used as a name in its own right in the 19th and 20th centuries, at least in the United States. At the height of its popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s, the name Dave was bestowed upon more than 3,000 infants each year.[3]
Common English-language hypocorisms of the name David are Dave, Dav, Davey, Davie, Davo, Davs, Davis, Daviey, and Davy. The Welsh Dafydd is also abbreviated Dewi, Dai and Daf.[4]
In Ashkenazi Jewish culture, common hypocorisms of Dovid are Dovi and Dov. Dudi is a common hypocorism in Modern Hebrew.[5]
Davo is also used as a nickname, and is quite common in Australia and Armenia, while the nickname Dato (for Davit) is popular in the country of Georgia.[citation needed]
Female forms
Some female forms of the name are Daveigh, Davetta, Davida, and Davina. The girl's name Davinia may derive from David, but it has also been considered a derivation from the Gaelic Devin[citation needed] or a variant of Lavinia.[citation needed]
Statistics
United Kingdom: David was the most popular masculine given name in Northern Ireland for newborns in 1975 and dropped to a fluctuating rank around 20th in the first few years of the 21st century.[6]
United States: David is the fifth most popular masculine name in the United States, belonging to 2,967,000 individuals.[7] It ranked #30 among boys born in 2021.[8]
United States: In 2015, the name David was the 18th most popular name for baby boys in the United States.[9]
^Although Dai was formerly used as a name in its own right prior to the late 15th century, possibly derived from a Welsh word meaning "shining". The name was very popular in Wales, leading to the situation whereby in England, "Taffy" or "Taff" (imitating the Welsh pronunciation of "Dafydd") became used as a pejorative nickname for Welshmen regardless of their actual name.[citation needed]
^"Name David". January 1, 2020. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
