FastNamesDavid
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from Hebrew Dawid (דָּוִד), meaning 'beloved', formed from a Semitic verbal root d-w-d denoting love or affection.". Ranked 35th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of David
Derived from Hebrew Dawid (דָּוִד), meaning 'beloved', formed from a Semitic verbal root d-w-d denoting love or affection.
Linguistically, David is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "DAY-vid".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, David has been given to a total of 3,676,654 boys. It has also been given to 12,959 girls.
Peak year: David reached its highest relative share among boys in 1955, when 86,306 babies received the name (41,898 per million births).
All-time best rank: 1st place, first achieved in 1960.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 35th with 6,794 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 18th (down 17 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named David in the 1950s than in any other decade (769,963 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,569 |
| 1890s | 7,333 |
| 1900s | 8,619 |
| 1910s | 43,853 |
| 1920s | 88,736 |
| 1930s | 164,701 |
| 1940s | 426,372 |
| 1950s | 769,963 |
| 1960s | 733,953 |
| 1970s | 445,704 |
| 1980s | 383,687 |
| 1990s | 253,711 |
| 2000s | 180,098 |
| 2010s | 116,740 |
| 2020s | 45,615 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where David is most common in the US
Accounting for when David was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Rhode Island: 1.3 times the national rate (19,615 births since 1910).
- Delaware: 1.2 times the national rate (10,128 births since 1910).
- Massachusetts: 1.2 times the national rate (115,997 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.2 times the national rate (8,532 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.2 times the national rate (14,368 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name David?
About 2,723,000 living American boys and men share the name David. Additionally, an estimated 10,500 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named David is 57 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name David
David is one of the most central personal names in world history, borne by the biblical shepherd who slew Goliath and united the tribes of Israel as their second monarch (c. 1010–970 BC). Venerated as an ancestor of Jesus in the New Testament and recognized as the prophet Dawud in the Quran, King David is traditionally regarded as the author of the Book of Psalms, establishing the name as an eternal symbol of spiritual faith, musical artistry, and courage.
In Britain, the name gained early independent renown through Saint David (Dewi Sant, c. 500–589), the patron saint of Wales, and two medieval Scottish kings, David I and David II, who made the name a royal Scottish staple. The name was adopted across Europe following the Norman Conquest and surged to universal prominence across Britain and North America after the Protestant Reformation.
In United States demographic records, David stands as one of the most extraordinary naming juggernauts in modern history. It ranked in the national top thirty in every single decade of the twentieth century, and held an unbroken spot in the top ten for nearly sixty years (1936–1992). In 1960, David was the number one boys' name in America with over 85,000 births, and today more than 3.6 million living Americans bear the name.
Notable people named David
- David Bowie (1947–2016), English singer-songwriter and actor
- David Beckham (1975–), English former footballer and club owner
- David Attenborough (1926–), English broadcaster and natural historian
- David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and historian
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 72.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 83.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), p. 187.