David Burr

(male) Biblical name, borne by the greatest of all the kings of Israel, whose history is recounted with great vividness in the first and second books of Samuel and elsewhere. As a boy he killed the giant Philistine Goliath with his slingshot. As king of Judah, and later of all Israel, he expanded the power of the Israelites and established the security of their kingdom. He was also noted as a poet, many of the Psalms being attributed to him. The Hebrew derivation of the name is uncertain; it is said by some to represent a nursery word meaning ‘darling’. It is a very popular Jewish name, but is almost equally common among Gentiles in the English-speaking world. It is particularly common in Wales and Scotland, having been borne by the patron saint of Wales (see Dewi) and by two medieval kings of Scotland.

1. English: of uncertain origin. Reaney explains this as a nickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, from Middle English bur(r) ‘bur’ (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). Burre occurs as a surname or byname as early as 1185, but the vocabulary word is not recorded in OED until the 14th century. Another possibility is derivation from Old English būr ‘small dwelling or building’ (modern English bower), but there are phonological difficulties here too.