# David (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/david/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “beloved” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdeɪvɪd/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Dai, Davo, Davy, Dave, Davey, Davie |
| Variant spellings | Davina, Dovid |
| US babies named this | 3,689,613 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,676,654 / 12,959 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 38,564, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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”).

## What it means

David is grouped under love.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 6,397 |
| 2012 | 18 | 6,941 |
| 2013 | 15 | 7,858 |
| 2014 | 13 | 8,597 |
| 2015 | 19 | 6,522 |
| 2016 | 15 | 7,689 |
| 2017 | 9 | 10,908 |
| 2018 | 14 | 7,869 |
| 2019 | 12 | 8,717 |
| 2020 | 10 | 9,734 |
| 2021 | 11 | 9,115 |
| 2022 | 6 | 14,018 |
| 2023 | 8 | 11,442 |
| 2024 | 7 | 12,482 |
| 2025 | 7 | 12,214 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13,258 | 18 |
| 2012 | 12,565 | 20 |
| 2013 | 12,400 | 17 |
| 2014 | 12,259 | 17 |
| 2015 | 11,838 | 18 |
| 2016 | 11,153 | 19 |
| 2017 | 10,244 | 22 |
| 2018 | 9,812 | 22 |
| 2019 | 8,989 | 27 |
| 2020 | 8,263 | 28 |
| 2021 | 7,940 | 30 |
| 2022 | 7,829 | 31 |
| 2023 | 7,420 | 27 |
| 2024 | 7,369 | 31 |
| 2025 | 6,794 | 35 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,163 | 57 |
| 2012 | 1,148 | 59 |
| 2013 | 1,248 | 50 |
| 2014 | 1,209 | 50 |
| 2015 | 1,394 | 43 |
| 2016 | 1,461 | 43 |
| 2017 | 1,416 | 44 |
| 2018 | 1,307 | 49 |
| 2019 | 1,168 | 56 |
| 2020 | 1,047 | 60 |
| 2021 | 961 | 62 |
| 2022 | 930 | 62 |
| 2023 | 845 | 65 |
| 2024 | 788 | 64 |
| 2025 | 712 | 73 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: دَاوُود, دَيْفِيد
- Armenian: Դավիթ
- Bulgarian: Дави́д, Де́йвид
- Catalan: David
- Chinese: 大衛 /大卫/大衞 /大卫, 大卫, 戴維 /戴维
- Czech: David
- Danish: David
- Dutch: David
- Esperanto: Davido
- Estonian: Taavet, Taavi
- Finnish: Taavetti, Taavi
- French: David
- Georgian: დავით
- German: David
- Greek: Ντέιβιντ, Δαβίδ
- Hebrew: דָּוִד
- Hindi: डेविड
- Hungarian: Dávid
- Icelandic: Davíð
- Indonesian: Daud, David

## People named David

- David Hilbert, German mathematician (1862–1943)
- Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (1817–1862)
- David Beckham, English footballer (born 1975)
- David Bowie, English musician and actor (1947–2016)
- David Lynch, American filmmaker (1946–2025)
- David Ricardo, British economist and politician (1772–1823)
- David Attenborough, British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)
- David Letterman, American comedian and television host
- David Duchovny, American actor and writer
- David Gross, American particle physicist and string theorist
- David Copperfield, American illusionist
- David Gilmour, English musician, member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.