Dave

Meaning: Beloved
Origin: Variant of David (from Hebrew)

Boy's name · #2456 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Dave is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1881, when it ranked #95. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 64,000 boys since 1880, ranked #2456 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Dave is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 6 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Dave ranks in other countries and regions.

#434 in Netherlands (2025) · #539 in Ecuador (2025) · #2,160 in England & Wales (2025) · #1,245 in Canada (2024).

Famous Daves

Dave Grohl — American rock musician
Dave Bautista — American actor and former professional wrestler (born 1969)
Dave Mustaine — American musician
Dave Brubeck — American jazz pianist and composer (1920–2012)
Dave Franco — American actor

In stories & tradition

Dave Karofsky — Glee (TV series)
Dave Williams — Desperate Housewives (TV series)
Dave Lister — Red Dwarf (TV series)

What Daves become

Among 4,546 notable people named Dave:

Sports figures appear 2.74× more often than among typical names — e.g. Dave Bautista, American actor and former professional wrestler (born 1969).

Similar names: Davion · Marion · Dan · Clive · Bennie · Ike

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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