Dave

Where Dave comes from

The dictionaries list Dave as a given name — a diminutive of the male given name David, also used as a formal given name — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #102 among boys — 131 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1881
    Peak, #95
    135 babies named Dave — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1969
    Dave Grohl born
    American rock musician
  4. 1977
    Dave Farrell born
    American bassist
  5. 2015
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #2,145.
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given name David, also used as a formal given name.
  • A female given name.
Namesakes
  • Dave Grohl · American rock musician, born 1969
  • Dave Farrell · American bassist, born 1977
  • Dave Benton · Aruban-Estonian musician, born 1951
  • Dave Eggers · American writer, editor, and publisher, born 1970
  • Dave Cowens · American basketball player and coach, born 1948

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.