David
David is ranked 31st among boys in 2024 (7,317 births). It was the number one boy’s name in 1960.
- Rank in 2024
- #31down 4 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 7,3170.43% of boys
- Peak year
- 195586,301 births
- Best rank
- #1in 1960
- Since 1880
- 3,682,683people given the name
The story in the numbers
3,669,730 boys have been named David in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1955, with 86,301 births — 4.2% of all boys recorded that year.
It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 17 → 31).
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1963, and the 1950s alone account for 21%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 145 of them in the top 100 and 57 in the top 10.
It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 12,953 girls have also been given it, 0.35% of the total.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named David | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,569 | |
| 1890s | 7,333 | |
| 1900s | 8,619 | |
| 1910s | 43,853 | |
| 1920s | 88,737 | |
| 1930s | 164,699 | |
| 1940s | 426,365 | |
| 1950s | 769,951 | |
| 1960s | 733,939 | |
| 1970s | 445,741 | |
| 1980s | 383,702 | |
| 1990s | 253,712 | |
| 2000s | 180,072 | |
| 2010s | 116,704 | |
| 2020s | 38,734 |
In 1955, its biggest year
David was the 2nd most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1955 were Michael, David, James, Robert and John. See all of 1955.
Names that rose and fell with David
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Michelpeak 1957
- Stephenpeak 1952
- Phillippeak 1960
- Douglaspeak 1957
- Darrellpeak 1958
- Randellpeak 1960
- Montepeak 1956
- Mickeypeak 1957
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.