Dave

Did you know?

A few things about Dave you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Dave

Dave Grohl

American rock musician

Choose Dave and your child shares a first name with Dave Grohl, an American rock musician. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Dave, like who?” Dave Grohl's Wikipedia article is available in 76 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Dave Grohl on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Raphael Pour-Hashemi, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 31,056 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Dave, 55 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Dave would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryDave has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Daves, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1881, when it ranked #95. Today it's #2,451, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendDave has slipped 474 places over the last five years and now sits at #2,451. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningDave is an English form of David, which means “beloved”. Our records link it to English, Hebrew and Welsh roots.

About the name Dave

Dave is a boy name of English, Hebrew and Welsh origin meaning “beloved”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with D and ending in “-ave”. US birth records list Dave for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked #95 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #2,451, with 55 babies.

Origin:English namesHebrew namesWelsh names