David

David: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “beloved”
Origin: Hebrew
Say it: DAY-vid · 2 syllables
Used for: Boys

From Hebrew Dawid. In the Bible, David is the shepherd, musician, and king of Israel, which helped spread the name widely.

English names Hebrew names Names meaning love Names meaning royalty Names meaning music Classic names Biblical names Royal names

How popular is David?

20242,200 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named David in 20247,324

2024 rank#31 boys

Peak year1955

Total US babies since 18803,682,683

David is fading: recent use is about 66% of its level ten years before.

Names like David

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Dawsonson of Daw · English
Davinabeloved · Hebrew
Davibeloved · Hebrew
Dovidbeloved · Hebrew
Davebeloved · Hebrew
Deweybeloved · Welsh
Noahrest; comfort · Hebrew
Jamessupplanter · Hebrew

David questions

What does the name David mean?

David means "beloved". It comes from Hebrew. From Hebrew Dawid. In the Bible, David is the shepherd, musician, and king of Israel, which helped spread the name widely.

Is David a boy or girl name?

David is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is David?

7,324 US babies were named David in 2024. Its peak year was 1955.

How do you pronounce David?

David is usually pronounced DAY-vid.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.