Dave
Masculine · “beloved”
Dave is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 64,378 boys against 114 girls since 1880.
Dave is David at its shortest, and David is the name of the king who wrote — or was credited with — the psalms. The Hebrew is usually read as beloved, and it is one of the oldest names in continuous use anywhere.
How old is the name Dave?
Dave was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Dave alive today was born around 1957, making them about 68 years old. About 37,500 people named Dave are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dave most popular?
Dave peaked in 1881, reaching #95 nationally. Today it ranks #2451, 2,356 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Dave appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From David to Dave
The story of Dave
David is the second king of Israel and one of the most fully drawn figures in the Hebrew Bible, and his name is central to Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition alike. It became a national name in Wales through Saint David and in Scotland through two kings. English use has been continuous, and Dave was registered as a legal name in American records from the 1930s, peaking in the mid-1950s.
Meaningscholars disagree
beloved
From the Hebrew David, generally connected to a root meaning 'beloved'. A competing reading treats it as a title of some kind found in ancient Near Eastern texts. The 'beloved' reading is much the commoner and is the one the tradition has always carried.
How the name formed
- David
- Dave
Related forms: David · Dafydd · David · David
Pronouncing Dave
DAYV
One syllable. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Dave
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19603,050 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #95reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −8.3%55 in 2025, from 60
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dave in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- David in Hebrew — related form
- Dafydd in Welsh — related form
- David in Spanish — same name
- David in Russian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, California, New York.
Daves among us
people named Dave are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 31,056 born in 2025 was named Dave
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Dave sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Dave is headed
Dave should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Dave beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dave in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- David stands behind it with three thousand years of documented use across three religions.
- One syllable, plain and unmistakable in any accent.
- It has cousins in every European and Semitic language.
- Given outright it stays informal; David on the certificate keeps both registers.
- It is closely associated with the middle of the twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Dave
Masculine · #2451 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Daves are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 37,500 people named Dave are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dave in 2025?
- Dave ranks #2451 among US boy names in 2025, with 55 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dave?
- About 1 in every 31,056 US boys born in 2025 was named Dave — 55 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dave with classmates?
- Dave will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dave
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zaydan#2451 · Zaxton#2451 · Sebastien#2451 · Yuvraj#2451 · Zyir#2451 · Raymundo#2451 · Ike#2451 · Keelan#2451
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dave? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dave and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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