Davina
Feminine · “Beloved”
Davina is the Scottish answer to David — the same Hebrew name, given a Latin-style feminine ending in the manner of Georgina and Wilhelmina. It has three unhurried syllables with the stress in the middle, so it says itself slowly. Familiar enough across the English-speaking world to be recognized on sight, uncommon enough that most people meet only one.
How old is the name Davina?
Davina first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Davina alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 11,000 people named Davina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Davina most popular?
Davina peaked in 2022, reaching #562 nationally. Today it ranks #749, 187 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Davina appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Dawid to Davina
The story of Davina
David came into European use from the Hebrew Bible, and it took particularly deep root in Scotland, where two medieval kings of Scots carried it — David I in the twelfth century and David II in the fourteenth. Scottish naming custom liked to pass a father's or grandfather's name to a daughter by adding a feminine ending, which is how Davina appears in Scottish records from the seventeenth century onward, alongside sisters of the same pattern like Georgina and Williamina. From there it traveled with Scottish emigration into England, Australia, New Zealand and North America. It has never been a mass name in the United States, but it has been continuously present here for well over a century.
Meaning
Beloved
Davina is built directly on David, from Hebrew Dawid, long understood as 'beloved'. The -ina ending is a feminine suffix, not a separate element with a meaning of its own.
How the name formed
- Dawid
- David
- Davina
Related forms: Davida · Davinia · Davena · Davine · Davida
Pronouncing Davina
duh-VEE-nuh
The Scottish and British standard is duh-VEE-nuh. Some American speakers say duh-VY-nuh, with the middle syllable rhyming with 'shine'. Both are in real use, so expect to state your preference now and then.
Nicknames for Davina
High
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
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 2021524 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #562reached in 2022
- Change vs 2023
- −19.7%363 in 2025, from 452
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.
Davina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Davida in English — related form
- Davinia in English — related form
- Davena in Scots — spelling variant
- Davine in Scots — related form
- Davida in Hebrew — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Davinas among us
people named Davina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 4,428 born in 2025 was named Davina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Bambi test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Davina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Bambi climbed just as high around 1979, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Bambi's path sketches the road Davina is walking now.
Davina 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 Davina is headed
Davina 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.
Davina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Davina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Its meaning is unambiguous and easy to explain: it is David, 'beloved', in a feminine form.
- The spelling follows directly from a name almost everyone already knows, so it is usually written correctly once heard.
- Several established short forms — Vina, Dava, Dee — give a child options without needing a second name.
- Recorded in Scotland since the seventeenth century and in continuous use across Britain, Australia and North America since.
- A natural way to honor a David, a Davide or a Dawid in the family without repeating the name outright.
- Two pronunciations circulate: duh-VEE-nuh and duh-VY-nuh. Neither is wrong, but she will correct people occasionally, and the correction is a lifelong small habit.
- The close cousins Davinia, Davena and Davida sound similar enough that some people will reach for the wrong one when writing it down.
- The link to David is transparent, so people may assume there is a David in the family and ask about it. Fine if there is one, mildly repetitive if there isn't.
- She is unlikely to share the name with a classmate. That means no last-initial problem, and also that the name will be new to some of the people who meet it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Davina to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Davina? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Davina
Feminine · #749 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Davinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 11,000 people named Davina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Davina in 2025?
- Davina ranks #749 among US girl names in 2025, with 363 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Davina?
- About 1 in every 4,428 US girls born in 2025 was named Davina — 363 in all.
- Will my child share the name Davina with classmates?
- Davina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Davina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Karina#749 · Adele#751 · Milan#751 · Bethany#751 · Mikayla#746 · Dani#746 · Araceli#746 · Maisy#745
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Davina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Davina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle