David
Meaning
beloved
Famously borne by David Bowie. Famously borne by David Beckham.
The story
David is Hebrew for beloved, and it belongs to the shepherd boy with the sling: the giant-killer who became Israel’s great king and the traditional singer of the psalms. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all carried forms of the name, while Wales honors Saint David as its patron. By the twentieth century David was established wherever English was spoken. Its American surge came at midcentury, when the curve climbs sharply to a crest in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 David even interrupted Michael’s long run as the number one boys’ name for a single year. The descent since has been slow rather than sudden, and David still holds a solid place in the records. Beloved describes both its Hebrew root and the way generations of families have treated this durable classic.
David around the world
One shared root links 7 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Dawid "beloved", the shepherd king
The constellation
More branches
In written records since at least the 9th century BCE: the Tel Dan stele, House of David inscription.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. David peaked in the 1960s.
Popularity in Brazil
228,894 people · the #138 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 887 · median age 19
Among people named David living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 15,598 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet David
People given the name David in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The David deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where David truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how David fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where David travels
Jewish American · a timeless classic across generations of Jewish American families
Korean American · beloved (the shepherd king; a mainstay Korean American church name for sons)
Keep exploring
Names like David · Nicknames for David · Jewish American baby names · Korean American baby names · Hebrew baby names
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