David Mo

(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.

Chinese 莫: from the name of a place called Mo City (莫), said to have been founded by Zhuan Xu, legendary emperor who lived in the 26th century BC. The current Chinese character for Mo replaces another, rare or obsolete character. Another source of this name was a government post called Mo’ao, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC) in the state of Chu. Descendants of a holder of the post adopted the first character of the title as their surname.