Hebrew Dodavehu, "darling or beloved of God"; originally a lullaby word. David fell below the American top ten list for boys in 1990 after being there for more than 50 years, but it was still 14th in 2005. In the Bible, David was the second king of Israel and the author of many of the Psalms. While he was still a boy, he killed the giant Goliath. Charles Dickens used the name for the title character of David Copperfield. David Duchovny, David Hasselhoff, David Hyde Pierce, and David Schwimmer are all actors who've made names for themselves on American television programs.

Famous names: David Letterman (late-night TV host), David Livingstone (explorer)

Nicknames: Dave, Davey

Variations: Davide (Italian), Davyd (Russian and Ukranian), Dawid (Polish and Yiddish), Dewey, Dovydas (Lithuanian), Taavetti (Finnish)

Find out about popular Irish names.