(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: 1. from a pet form of the female personal name Elizabeth. Compare Hibbs 2. 2. nickname for someone with very fair hair or skin, from Middle English, Old English lilie ‘lily’ (Latin lilium).The Italian equivalent Giglio was used as a personal name in the Middle Ages. In English and other languages there has also been some confusion with forms of Giles. 3. habitational name from places called Lilley, in Hertfordshire and Berkshire. The Hertfordshire place was named in Old English as ‘flax-glade’, from līn ‘flax’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. The Berkshire name is from Old English Lillinglēah ‘wood associated with Lilla’, an Old English personal name.
