David (name)


David is a common masculine given name of Hebrew origin. Its popularity derives from the initial oral tradition and recorded use related to King David, a central figure in the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, and foundational to Judaism, and subsequently significant in the religious traditions of Christianity and Islam.

Etymology

David means, derived from the root dôwd, which originally meant, but survives in Biblical Hebrew only in the figurative usage ; specifically, it is a term for an uncle or figuratively, a lover/beloved. In Christian tradition, the name was adopted as Dawid, Greek Δαυίδ, Latin Davidus or David. The Quranic spelling is دَاوُۥد or.
David was adopted as a Christian name from an early period, e.g. David of Wales, David Saharuni, David I of Iberia.
Name days are celebrated on 8 February, 1 March and 29 December, as well as 25 June, 26 June, 9 July, 26 August, 11 December and 30 December.

Hypocorisms

The oldest, most popular and most commonly used diminutive form in the English speaking countries of David is Dav, which first appeared in written form in the 16th century. The nickname Dav or Dave has been used as a name in its own right in the 19th and 20th centuries, at least in the United States. At the height of its popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s, the name Dave was bestowed upon more than 3,000 infants each year.
Common English-language hypocorisms of the name David are Dave, Dav, Davey, Davie, Davo, Davs, Davis, Daviey, and Davy. The Welsh Dafydd is also abbreviated Dewi, Dai and Daf.
In Ashkenazi Jewish culture, common hypocorisms of Dovid are Dovi and Dov. Dudi is a common hypocorism in Modern Hebrew.

Surnames

A number of surnames are derived from the name.