David

DAY-vid
Hebrew
"beloved"

David Origin and Meaning

The name David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved".

David is an enduring worldwide classic, used from ancient times to the present day.

David is derived from the Hebrew name Dawid, believed to come from the root dôwd, meaning “beloved”. The first famous David was the Old Testament second king of Israel: the shepherd boy who killed the giant Goliath, and later a warrior, poet, and powerful leader, wise but humanly fallible. He is an important figure in Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and later inspired many works of art, including Michelangelo’s colossal sculpture.

Since then, there have been countless Davids of note in history, literature, and popular culture, including the patron saint of Wales — a translation of the Welsh name Dewi — two kings of Scotland. Then there’s Copperfield, Crockett, Bowie, Beckham, Letterman, Grohl, and many more. Celebrities who have chosen it for their sons include Jennifer Hudson, Bar Refaeli, and J.K. Rowling.

In its international forms, David is steadily popular around the world, and ranks in the Top 10 names in Brazil, Austria, Armenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Israel.

In the USA, David has never been out of the Top 40 boy names, but was at peak popularity in the mid-twentieth century, ranking in the Top 10 from 1936-1992. This means that, although it’s still given to thousands of boys each year, it has an “older man” feel to it. It ranks highest in states with a large Jewish population, and is still a Top 10 name in New York.

After Daniel, David is the second most popular boy name starting with D. Although fading a little in popularity, it remains a serious-yet-friendly classic with deep roots.

If you’re looking to update David, perhaps as an honor name, the freshest alternatives are surnames deriving from David, including Dawes, Dawson, and Davies. You could also try an international variation, like Welsh Dai or Finnish Taavi.

# 27 in the US

David Rank in US Top 1000

# 117 on Nameberry

David Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

David Popularity

Famous People Named David

  • David
    2nd King of Israel
  • David "Davy" Crockett
    American frontiersman and politician
  • David Laʻamea Kahalepouli Kinoiki Kawānanakoa
    Prince of Hawaiʻi
  • David Lloyd George
    1st Earl Lloyd,George of Dwyfor, British Prime Minister
  • David Hume
    Scottish Philosopher
  • David Frederick Attenborough
    English naturalist and broadcaster
  • David Randolph Scott
    American astronaut
  • David Howell Petraeus
    American former CIA director
  • David William Donald Cameron
    FORMER British Prime Minister
  • David Bowie (born David Robert Jones)
    English musician
  • David Robert Joseph Beckham
    English footballer
  • David Keith Lynch
    American director
  • David Michael Hasselhoff
    American actor and singer
  • David Arquette
    American actor
  • David Julian Dobrik
    Slovak YouTuber
  • David Byrne
    American musician of "Talking Heads"
  • David Michael Letterman
    American television host
  • David Alasdair Boudia
    American diver
  • David Thomas "Davy" Jones
    English singer of The Monkees
  • David John "Dave" Franco
    American actor
  • David Michael "Dave" Mirra
    American professional BMX rider
  • David Eric "Dave" Grohl
    American musician of the Foo Fighters
  • David John "Dave" Matthews
    American musician
  • David Warren "Dave" Brubeck
    American jazz pianist
  • Robert David "Dave" Grusin
    American film composer
  • David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle
    American comedian
  • David Allen "Dave" Meltzer
    American sports journalist
  • David Scott "Dave" Mustaine
    lead guitarist for American band Metallica
  • David "Dave" Fleischer
    American animator
  • David Victor "Dave" Sim
    Canadian cartoonist
  • David "Dave" Sexton
    English footballer
  • David Allan "Dave" Righetti
    American baseball player and coach
  • David Mark "Dave" Winfield
    American baseball player
  • David "Dave" Nizam Baksh
    Canadian guitarist of Sum 41 and Brown Brigade
  • David "Dave" Rodman Annable
    American actor
  • David "Dave" Gardner
    British sports agent
  • David William Duchovny
    American actor
  • David Hyde Pierce
    American actor
  • David Tennant (born David John McDonald)
    Scottish actor
  • David Clayton Henrie
    American actor
  • David Albert Mazouz
    American child actor
  • David Abraham Adler
    American children's author
  • David Berman
    American actor and researcher
  • David Cloud Berman
    American musician of band The Silver Jews
  • David Boreanaz
    American actor
  • John Arthur "David" Carradine
    American actor
  • David Roland Cook
    American musician
  • David Eigenberg
    American actor
  • David Howell Evans aka The Edge
    Irish musician of U2
  • David Jon Gilmour
    English musician of Pink Floyd
  • David Wright Miliband
    British Politician
  • David James Stuart Mitchell
    English actor and comedian
  • David Mark Morrissey
    English actor
  • David Alan Robertson
    American baseball pitcher
  • David Allen Wright
    American baseball player
  • David Lawrence Schwimmer
    American actor
  • David Wayne Spade
    American actor and comedian
  • David Courtney Suchet
    English actor
  • David Krejci
    Czech ice Hockey player
  • David "Dave" Shelton
    American rapper of the group "Another Bad Creation"
  • David Scott "Dave" Foley
    Canadian actor
  • David Bruce Cassidy
    American actor/singer
  • David Richard Freese
    American baseball player
  • David Hilbert
    German mathematician
  • David Joseph Bohm
    American theoretical physicist
  • David Jonathan Gross
    American particle physicist, string theorist and Nobel prize winner
  • David Bagrationi
    Prince Regent of Georgia
  • David Russell Strathairn
    American actor
  • David James "Dave" Gorman
    English comedian
  • David Wallace Crowder
    American Christian Musician
  • David Gulpilil (Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu)
    Aboriginal Australian actor
  • David Lambert
    American actor
  • David Lauren
    son of American fashion designer Ralph Lauren
  • David Spencer aka iBallisticSquid
    English YouTuber
  • David Nagle aka Daithi De Nogla
    Irish YouTuber
  • David Ramsey
    American actor
  • David Portner aka Avey Tare
    American musician of Animal Collective
  • David Michael "Dave" Bautista
    American actor and pro wrestler
  • David Philippe Desrosiers
    French Canadian bass player of Simple Plan
  • David Miscavige
    leader of the Church of Scientology
  • David Kaufman
    American voice actor
  • David Daniel Otunga Jr. (b. 2009)
    son of American singer and actress Jennifer Hudson
  • David Lee Roth
    American lead singer for the band Van Halen
  • David Jarre
    French magician and musician, son of composer Jean,Michel Jarre and actress Charlotte Rampling
  • David Harbour
    American actor
  • David McGoldrick
    Irish professional footballer
  • David Green
    British film director, TV producer, and media executive
  • David Michael Burtka
    American Actor and Chef; married to American actor Neil Patrick Harris
  • David James Furnish
    Candian Filmmaker; married to British singer and songwriter Sir Elton John
  • David Goffin
    Belgian tennis player
  • David Ferrer Ern
    Spanish tennis player
  • David Rosen
    (b. 1930) American businessman co,founder of the Japanese video game company Sega
  • David Ezra (b. 2020)
    son of Bar Refaeli and Adi Ezra.
  • David Andrew Burd
    American rapper and comedian, better known by his stage name Lil Dicky

David in Pop Culture

  • David Tanaka
    doctor on Australian soap "Neighbours"
  • City of David
    another name for Jerusalem
  • David Gamut
    character in "Last of the Mohicans," by James Fenimore Cooper
  • Dr. David Marrow
    character in "Haunting of Hill House"
  • "David Copperfield
    " novel by Charles Dickens
  • Dr. David "Mr. Bone" Huxley
    character in "Bringing Up Baby"
  • David
    robotic boy in the movie "AI"
  • David
    character in "The Uglies" series
  • David Nolan/Prince Charming
    character on the TV's "Once Upon a Time"
  • David Rossi
    character on "Criminal Minds"
  • David Camden
    one of the twins on TV's "Seventh Heaven"
  • David Brent
    from the UK TV series "The Office"
  • David McCall
    villian in the movie "Fear"
  • David Shayne
    character in movie "Bullets over Broadway"
  • David Stenfaeldt
    character from The dung,beetle flies at dusk, by Maria Gripe
  • David Fletcher
    "One Tree Hill"
  • David Charleston
    main character in The Reckoners Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
  • David Singh
    character in DC Universe
  • David "Dave" Stutler
    main character in the movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
  • David "Dave" Seville
    main character in the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks"
  • David Haller
    also known as Legion, character in Marvel Universe
  • David Rain
    character in book series "The Last Dragon Chronicles," by Chris D'Lacey
  • David Dunn
    character in "Unbreakable"
  • David Drayton
    character in "The Mist"
  • David
    character in "Alien" series
  • David Anderson
    character in the "Mass Effect" trilogy
  • David Gregory Phillips
    character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
  • David Hodges
    character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
  • David
    main character in the Rooster Teeth animated series "Camp Camp"
  • David
    character in the "Underworld" series
  • David Healy
    character on TV's "Roseanne"
  • David Wallace
    character from the US TV series "The Office"
  • David Levinson
    character in the 1996 film "Independence Day" aka ID4
  • David Prentiss
    character in Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness.