David (name)

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David
David SM Maggiore.jpg
Pronunciation /ˈdvɪd/
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameHebrew
Meaning"Beloved, famed, loved" [1]
Region of origin Eretz Israel

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

Contents

Etymology

David (Hebrew : דָּוִד, Modern: David, Tiberian: Dāwîḏ) means 'beloved', derived from the root dôwd (דּוֹד), which originally meant 'to boil', but survives in Biblical Hebrew only in the figurative usage 'to love'; specifically, it is a term for an uncle or figuratively, a lover/beloved (it is used in this way in the Song of Songs: אני לדודי ודודי לי, 'I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me'). [2] In Christian tradition, the name was adopted as Syriac : ܕܘܝܕDawid, Greek Δαυίδ, Latin Davidus or David. The Quranic spelling is دَاوُۥدDāwūd or Dā'ūd.

David was adopted as a Christian name from an early period, e.g. David of Wales (6th century), David Saharuni (7th century), David I of Iberia (9th century). Name days are celebrated on 8 February (for David IV of Georgia), 1 March (for St. David of Wales) and 29 December (for King David), as well as 25 June (St. David of Sweden), 26 June, 9 July (Russia), 26 August, 11 December and 30 December (Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Czech Republic).

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.[ citation needed ] 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. [3]

Other 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. [4]

In Ashkenazi Jewish culture, common hypocorisms of Dovid are Dovi and Dov. Dudi is a common hypocorism in Modern Hebrew. [5]

Davo is also used as a nickname, and is quite common in Australia and Armenia, while the nickname Dato (for Davit) is popular in the country of Georgia.[ citation needed ]

Female forms

Some female forms of the name are Daveigh, Davetta, Davida, and Davina. The girl's name Davinia may derive from David, but it has also been considered a derivation from the Gaelic Devin [ citation needed ] or a variant of Lavinia.[ citation needed ]

Statistics

Variants

Notable people with the name

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David</span> Biblical figure and Israelite monarch

David was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David's Tomb</span> Holy site for Abrahamic faiths

David's Tomb is a site that, according to a Medieval tradition, is associated with the burial of the biblical King David. Historians, archaeologists and Jewish religious authorities do not consider the site to be the actual resting place of King David. It occupies the ground floor of a former church, whose upper floor holds the Cenacle or "Upper Room" traditionally identified as the place of Jesus' Last Supper and the original meeting place of the early Christian community of Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David in Islam</span> Islamic view of David

Dawud, or David, is considered a prophet and messenger of God (Allah) in Islam, as well as a righteous, divinely-anointed monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. Additionally, Muslims also honor David for having received the divine revelation of the Zabur (Psalms).

Daud is a male Arabic given name and surname corresponding to David. The Persian form is Davud or Davoud. Other variant spellings in the Latin alphabet include Da'ud, Daut, Daoud, Dawud, Dawood, Davood, Daood and Davut.

References

  1. "Meaning, origin and history of the name David".
  2. Strong's Concordance H1730
  3. "Popular Baby Names". ssa.gov.
  4. Although Dai was formerly used as a name in its own right prior to the late 15th century, possibly derived from a Welsh word meaning "shining". The name was very popular in Wales, leading to the situation whereby in England, "Taffy" or "Taff" (imitating the Welsh pronunciation of "Dafydd") became used as a pejorative nickname for Welshmen regardless of their actual name.[ citation needed ]
  5. Slobin, Dan Isaac (1985). The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition. Psychology Press. ISBN   9780898593679.
  6. "Jack and Emma were the most popular first names in Northern Ireland in 2003" (PDF) (Press release). Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 2 January 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2008. (see tables "Comparison with 1975" and "Top 20 Names 2000–2003")
  7. "Name David". January 1, 2020. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. "Popularity for the name David". May 7, 2022.
  9. ourbabynamer.com