(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.
Short form: Dave.
Pet forms: Davy, Davey, Davie (mainly Scottish); Dai.
Cognates: Irish: Dáibhídh. Scottish Gaelic: Dàibhidh. Welsh: Dafydd, Dewi. German, Dutch: David. French: David. Spanish: David. Italian: Davide. Russian: David. Polish: Dawid. Czech: David. Finnish: Taavi. Hungarian: Dávid.
Scottish (also found in Ireland): reduced form of McDow. This surname is borne by a sept of the Buchanans.
English: variant of Daw.
Americanized spelling of Dutch Douw, an Old Frisian personal name.
Americanized spelling of German Dau.
FOREBEARS Henry Dow (1634–1707), NH soldier and statesman, was born at Ormsby in Norfolkshire, England. His father migrated with his family to Watertown in the colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1637 and moved to Hampton in the province of NH in 1644. Henry became an influential and prosperous figure in Hampton. He married twice and had four sons.The Dutch name Douw is recorded in Beverwijck in New Netherland (Albany, NY) in the mid 17th century.
