(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.
Irish and Scottish: reduced form of McGee, Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Aodha ‘son of Aodh’ (see McCoy).
English: this is a common name in northern England, of uncertain origin. The existence of a patronymic form Geeson points to a personal name, but this has not been satisfactorily identified. It may in fact be the Irish or Scottish name in an English context.
French (Gée): habitational name from any of several places called Gé or Gée, for example in Maine-et-Loire, derived from the Gallo-Roman domain name Gaiacum.