boy's name
Dave
DAYV
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 68,186
Ireland
#626
2024 births
Dave ranks 2217th in England and Wales and 2469th in the United States, so the short form outranks its American peak market in a country that never recorded more than fifteen in a year.
- Dave is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1959, when 3,308 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 60,281 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Dave over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,344 |
| 1890s | 1,281 |
| 1900s | 1,133 |
| 1910s | 2,730 |
| 1920s | 3,445 |
| 1930s | 4,825 |
| 1940s | 11,767 |
| 1950s | 14,851 |
| 1960s | 15,808 |
| 1970s | 2,589 |
| 1980s | 1,517 |
| 1990s | 1,106 |
| 2000s | 987 |
| 2010s | 717 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 392 |
What Dave means
Dave means beloved, carried from David. The Hebrew root concerns love, and the name is a statement about the bearer rather than a description of them.
Where Dave comes from
Dave shortens David, from the Hebrew Dawid, generally read as beloved, from a root concerning love. Its use as a personal name in the Hebrew Bible is odd enough that some scholars have suggested it began as a title. David is the shepherd who becomes king, the psalmist, and the ancestor the gospels trace Jesus to, which is why the name carries across Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike.
Dave in use
Dave peaked in the United States in 1959, when 3,308 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 2217th in England and Wales on 11 births, 2469th in the United States on 55 and 6014th in France on 5, across 68,186 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. England ranks it above America.
How popular is Dave?
In 2025, Dave was given to 55 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Dave is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Dave
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dave also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dave over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Dave in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Afrikaans
- Dawid
- Asturian
- David
- Belarusian
- David
- Catalan
- David
- Czech
- David
- French
- David
- Galician
- David
- Greek
- David
- Italian
- Davide
- Japanese
- Dai
- Norwegian
- David
- Polish
- Dawid
- Russian
- David
- Slovene
- David
- Spanish
- David
- Welsh
- Dafydd
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Daoud
Sibling names for Dave
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dave — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dave
What does the name Dave mean?
Beloved — from David, the Hebrew Dawid.
Is the meaning certain?
Mostly. Some scholars have suggested it began as a title rather than a personal name.
Why does David carry so widely?
He is a king in Judaism, an ancestor of Jesus in Christianity and a prophet in Islam.
How popular is Dave?
2217th in England and Wales, which ranks it above the United States.
Is Dave a girl's or a boy's name?
Dave is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Dave?
Dave has 1 syllable.
Is Dave a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dave currently ranks #1,260 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.