Dave

“Variant of David — Beloved” — Hebrew origin

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

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.

Around the world: about 1 in 8,400 boys in Canada (2024) · about 1 in 18,000 boys in Switzerland (2024).

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

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
Dave Williams — Desperate Housewives
Dave Lister — Red Dwarf

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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