(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.
English: from the Norman personal name Huard, Heward, composed of the Germanic elements hug ‘heart’, ‘mind’, ‘spirit’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.
English: from the Anglo-Scandinavian personal name Hāward, composed of the Old Norse elements há ‘high’ + varðr ‘guardian’, ‘warden’.
English: variant of Ewart 2.
Irish: see Fogarty.
Irish (County Clare) surname adopted as an equivalent of Gaelic Ó hÍomhair, which was formerly Anglicized as O’Hure.
FOREBEARS The house of Howard, the leading family of the English Roman Catholic nobility, was founded by Sir William Howard or Haward of Norfolk (died 1308). The family acquired the dukedom of Norfolk by marriage. The first Duke of Norfolk of the Howard line was created Earl Marshal of England by Richard III in 1483, and this office has been held by his succeeding male heirs to the present day. They also hold the Earldoms of Suffolk, Berkshire, Carlisle, and Effingham. Henry VIII's fifth queen, Catherine Howard (?1520–42), was a niece of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
